You will quickly figure
out as you use the Database, that I did not copy everything ever put on
the Forum. For a long time, I only copied things that I was personally
interested in (I already had a shimmy damper, for example, so I didn’t
copy much early on, on that subject). Later, when I got the idea to put
the Database on-line, I started copying pretty much everything I thought
would be of interest to the average Forum member. For that reason, there
are some “holes” in the data. I believe in spite of that, you will still
find the Database fairly comprehensive, with at least some information
on virtually every subject ever discussed on the Forum.

Limitations: Obviously,
I can’t vouch for the validity or value of any of the material contained
in the Database. In some cases, I copied info that was questioned in subsequent
posts. In many cases, I got the dissenting information in as well, but
I can’t guarantee that in every case. I did my best to select only uncontested
data, the best data, or at least data where both views made a lot of sense.
Those I leave to your own judgement. Also, early on, I didn’t bother with
copying the name of the poster along with the data. If it sounded reasonable
and believable to me, I put it in. Later, I began to copy the name of the
person who posted it, in order to provide a sense of the value of each
particular post. You will find posts of each type in the Database. In rare
cases, you will find the same post in two different places. I did that
a couple of times in order to aid in finding posts or info that cross topic
boundaries.

Many of the URL’s in
the Database are direct links. Some were not posted as direct links when
displayed on the Forum in the first place, so that’s the way I got them.
Someone may get energetic and fix those that don’t auto-link, but if not,
I don’t consider that a real limitation. Just copy the link into your web
browser’s “Address” line and hit return. You can then of course, save any
you find particularly useful as “Favorites” (Microsoft Explorer) or “Bookmarks”
(Netscape), or re-copy it off your browser address line back into the Database.
That should fix that. I tried to color code all URL’s, e-mail addresses,
and phone numbers to make them a little easier to find. The “code” is on
the right hand side of the “Index” page.

You are free to copy
the Database into your own computer and then to modify or add to it as
you like. I will continue to update it regularly and will post an updated
version at the link site from time to time. I will post a notice on the
Forum when I do that so you can copy the new one if you want. Alternatively,
of course, you can just use this one as your own “base database”, and delete
what you don’t care about and upgrade/update it with only the posts that
are of interest to you. I’m hoping that the Database will be particularly
helpful to new members; at the very least, we should be able to direct
them to the Database for answers to some of the questions we commonly get
from newcomers. Maybe it will help us not to have to plow new ground so
often.

Finally, a couple of
guys have questioned the wisdom of displaying the Database in Microsoft
Excel, suggesting that many (most?) Forum members will not be familiar
with it, or even have it on their systems. Unfortunately, that is the only
serious database/format with which I am familiar. There are many others,
of course. I will have to leave any subsequent conversion effort to someone
on the Forum who is more computer experienced than I. I hope most won’t
find this to be a serious limitation. Excel is readily available, easy
to learn (the basics, anyway), and bundled in Microsoft Office. It pretty
much comes with just about every new PC sold these days, I’m told.

Hope everyone finds
the Database useful and will consider contributing to it over time.

16All those kit parts
are available in Canada, I have seen some, like ignitor, cams and such,
Pilons bike made 164hp on a dynojet dyno when it was done.To order stuff, call
Fast Company - 519-651-3315, they did Pilons bike, and Kevin Graham's,
and I am sure you could order through them, or http://www.cycleimprovements.com
519-888-7450 he also sells aftermarket stuff, sells and ships.

13Buy the Akrapovic.
Star Cycle should give you the best price. The Yosh is nice but consider
this:Akrapovic = 4-1 system4-1 system = smoother
low end with less low end torque dip. I have the M4 and would buy the Akrapovic
if I had to do it all over again.

14Muzzy's pipe is now
available and its 4-1 with a few tricks. I got one on order. I have to
wait because they aren't making the full ti system until Nov, '99.Retail is $852 with
the oval CF can. Retail for the round CF, and round ti is $795

15THE best R1 exhaust
system according to Greg Crowe who ought to know: Akrapovic stainless steel
system with full titanium can, part # 4235607.

17The Yosh full titanium
system weighs only 7 lbs, where the stainless version weighs about 11 lbs.
You will have to decide if the weight savings afforded by the full titanium
system is worth the price difference. The performance characteristics are
identical between the two pipes, the only difference is the material. Dealer
cost on that pipe is $1,180.00, so there should be some room for a discount
of sorts, if you have a good relationship with your dealer.Santo Jannotti

18Every Akra exhaust
that I have installed, fit perfect, although there were a couple that were
a little close to the lower cowl on the left side, I just installed a little
heat tape and there were no problems at all, (95% did not need the heat
tape). Also, if you don't "shake fit" the pipe and make sure that all the
connections are seated all the way and "relaxed", I guess you could have
some problems. One more thing, the carbon muffler clamp must be installed
with the muffler closer to the swingarm, but on the outside of the peg
bracket. If you have an aftermarket muffler hanger, then you must check
to see that the pipe fits properly.....don't assume that the
pipe will fit the same, you may have to do a little bending, or make some
spacers. My bike and everyone else's that I have worked on says that the
bike runs cooler with the pipe.Ivan

19When you put titanium
pipes together you should use a high temp silcon to help stop leaks. Yamahabond
6s is sold by yamaha dealers it is silver and works great. Be sure the
pipe does not bind at all or rub against anything. the vibration from the
motor will break your pipe due to the fact Titanium likes to shatter if
it is rubbing against your body work or etc. The pipe needs to almost be
free floating. Be sure gaskets are in the head when you install new pipe.

20I just got the Muzzy
exhaust on and had my dealer jet it with a Yosh MJN kit and the results
are great! I haven't gotten it on the dyno yet, hopefully in a week or
so, but there a no noticeable flat spots and it has a much improved midrange
to topend...I'm really satisfied with the results, sounds great too. The
overall construction of the pipe is very good, solid welds, nicely shaped...BUT,
it was a HUGE pain to get it fitted properly, you need an extra set, or
two, of hands to get it done, and the s-bend pipe contacts the lower fairing
right above where the stock exhaust used to exit so you either have to
cut a small piece of plastic or let the pipe make it's own. It's small
so it's not a huge concern, I was just surprised Muzzy didn't use the stock
exit.

1
For solid pegs: I got mine from Eric Wood @ Woodcraft. The look very
similar to the ones on CFM's aftermarket rearset (may even be the same
now that I think about it). 508-339-5772

Make sure he sends you the right bolts. The ones without the shoulders.

2
QB Carbon products and ProMach rearsets are offered in the US by Formula
1 Motorsports. 516-969-9480. They are located in Bay Shore, New York.

3
The Promach non-adjustable rearsets retain the shift rod through the
frame. I have a set of the adjustable Promachs and they are extremely well
engineered and well made with very precise operation. The levers pivot
on roller bearings and the tolerances are very tight. They are adjustable
to nine different peg positions, and the shift lever is adjustable to three
positions, independent of the pegs. They are the only ones I've seen that
are comparable to Attacks, but unlike the Attacks, they are anodized rather
than raw aluminum billet.

4
I have the ProMach non-adjustable rearsets, and am very impressed with
the quality. They have ball bearings for both the shifter as well as the
brake lever, and are very smooth in operation. They are setup to use the
stock brakelight setup, and are a straight bolt-on affair. I have seen
the adjustable models in person, and the quality is just as good as the
fixed-position ones. I did not buy them, as I don't care for the appearance
of nine holes in a grid pattern, that most adjustable rearsets have. The
pegs are in pretty much the stock position. The only advantages, are lighter
weight, and the rigid pegs are shorter than stock, offering increased cornering
clearance.

6
Sharkskinz reverse shift rod. Works great!Screwed in just about all
the way on both ends. You must take off the shift shaft lever and the foot
peg and shift pedal. Wrap the rod with something to keep it from getting
nicked where it goes through the frame. For 26 bucks its well worth it.
Much cheaper than rearsets.

7
Attack Racing makes a reverse shifting linkage that keeps the stock
rod through the frame - very trick.

6
I have the Euro Bikes tail on my 99 R1. Once I finally received and
installed it, I am happy with it. Dealing with Eurobikes is a headache
in a half. It took about 3 months to come in. And the installation instructions
are practically useless.

If you purchase this, I strongly recommend a device from Lockhart Phillips
to go along with it. It is called the 'Integrator Kit'. This kit will make
your 2 rear lights into turn signals, so you don't have to attach new signals.
It is very sweet.

7
Eurobikes just released a new undertail for the 98/99 r1 with flush
mounted rear turn signals on each side of the brake lights.received mine
in less than a week.I think it looks better than the others.
8
http://www.eurobikes

9
Best carbon fiber in the world comes from Tand T in Hickory NC. Call
and ask for Todd 828 323-1277

UPDATE :It said Yoyodyne Ti was selling CarboTech parts,
but when I Emailed them they said they were made by another company (NOT
Carbotech)- I think they said it was a company in Spain. You may want to
check with them to see who makes their parts.checking . . .

29
Getting the speedo off (and on) is a bit of a pain - remove screen,
ratchet right-angle drive short pozidrive bit and three screws out - pull
rubber cover back cable plug - remove plug whilst pressing little plastic
bit on top to release latch. Then just putting it all back is a reverse
of the above.

30
Excellent Dzus fasteners from DFS International, Orlando, Florida.
$3 each. Two different finishes. The part number 316-415-191 (that's the
correct length for the R1).
DFS phone # is (407)-858-9848 and their website http://www.dfsintl.com/

31
Use a moly based grease, per the recommendation of Fred Renz at Yoyodyne
Titanium for installing titanium bolts.

32
If you are in need of racing plastic or any aftermarket parts you may
want to check with Northwest Cycle at http://www.nwcycle.com.
877-692-9253.
They carry inexpensive racing body panels.

33
Go to http://www.MandP.com
for anti-seize lubricant made for preventing titanium bolts from cold-welding
to aluminum surfaces or casings. Called ti-prep, it is a "finish line "product,and
part #is FLT10150101 for the 18gram tube, and FLT10240101 for the 1.5lb.
tube.

34
The same stuff in a 500g (~1 lb) can costs US$10. Much less than repackaged
Ti-Prep, it's the same as the copper anti seize packed by LPS, LockTite
brand, etc.

35 Good quality moly grease is fantastic general-purpose stuff, but
that ugly copper stuff is the absolute best to prevent galling in titanium
nuts and bolts.

36
yoyodyne ( http://www.yoyodyneti.com
)
Has some rear/front axles for the ones who got the money;
front$375 usd
rear$350 usd
Already nitride coated with teflon covered threads for some application.
they have the whole bike in nuts and bolts.

37
The Kawasaki part number for a radiator guard that will fit the R1
perfectly is 14037-1198: think its from a 1995 gpz 1100

44
YZF1000 96-97 aluminum chain guard can be modified to work on the R1.
Very nice.

45
I recently purchased some D-Ring Fairing fasteners and really like
them. Here is a old Picture of Robert's bike for those that want to see
them. They are kind of hard to see unless you enlarge the picture, but
they are there.

Anyway they are a nice touch.

I picked up 12 of them. Cost was $60. They come in packs of 4 $20/pack.
I got them from street-n-comp.

49
Troy said:I didn't see any mention of the mirror bracket covers I sell, maybe
I just missed it? Since it is a unique and "YZF exclusive" product not
sold by anyone else I figure it should qualify :)
http://users.cnmnetwork.com/~tpgreen/forsale.htmTroy Green
How was that, Troy? 8-) Mike.

3Heli-Bars 800-859-4642
$230 USD I think?http://www.helibars.comTwo Brothers Racing
714-550-6070http://www.twobros.com
$265 USDThe 2 Bros clip on's
are fully adjustable and they are a little longer for more leverage. I
have not measured but the ends of my bars sit noticeable higher than stock.
I have ridden 440 miles in 8 hours without having sore wrists.(4 days later
I rode the same distance in 7 hours). You can't use your stock bar ends
because they are hollow. you will have to drill a couple small hole so
you can mount your controls. so take a picture of them where they are before
pull your stock clip ons off. you will have to take you triple clamp off
so you are going to need a 36 mm socket (I think) and a rubber hammer.
For bar ends, they sell them with a rubber plug that expands as you tighten
the allen bolt holding the bar ends in the bar. you can use that same rubber
piece in any bar end. There are some earlier post on clip on's.

Dussault Products,
Techniques

1With the Dussalt tail
you need a Tridon EL-12C electronic flasher unit. Takes all of 10 minutes
to pop the stock unit off and replace it with the Tridon.

3On the Dussault tail:
DO paint the light housing black like Robert suggests, or you WILL be taking
it back apart to do it later. Don't ask why I know this.

Also, you will need
to switch either the bulbs in the turn signals, or the flasher relay. The
lights will flash too quickly after the install. The bulbs need to be 20
watts, OR the relay needs to be changed to a Tridon EL12-c. You will find
the flasher relay mounted under the seat. They are cheap (under 10 bucks)
and available in most any auto parts store. This info came straight from
Robert himself.

4By far, the easiest
solution is to install 20 watt bulbs. If you do it, they will flash at
the proper rate, with no other modifications necessary.Santo

5Get a Sears rotary
tool (Dremel) with a flexible shaft to use when you install a Dussault
tail. Very helpful.

Design/Painting/Helmet
Painting

6B.K.B. Good helmet
painter, but address is old. Might not be good any more. B.K.B. = Bob's
Crazy Brush

8I recommend calling
Rick Briggs at Off Beat Productions (916)645-7520, local friend. He Paints
helmets for Larry Pegram, Tommy and Nicky Hayden, Jamie Hacking and a few
others I can not think of right now. Also Paints all Erion Racing's plastics
for race bikes, and painted the Kevin Schantz bike Cycle Gear is giving
away. ( Looks like Schantz Helmet) Rick is a real good Guy. He may not
be as busy now that the AMA season is over.

2Use a moly based grease,
per the recommendation of Fred Renz at Yoyodyne Titanium for installing
titanium bolts.

3http://www.MandP.com
for anti-seize lubricant made for preventing titanium bolts from cold-welding
to aluminum surfaces or casings. Called ti-prep,it is a "finish line "product,
and part #is FLT10150101 for the 18 gram tube, and FLT10240101 for the
1.5lb. tube.

M&P Motorcycle Accessories,
Ltd.

4The same stuff in a
500g (~1 lb) can costs US$10. Much less than repackaged Ti-Prep, it's the
same as the copper anti seize packed by LPS, LockTite brand, etc.

Good quality moly grease
is fantastic general-purpose stuff, but that ugly copper stuff is the absolute
best to prevent galling in titanium nuts and bolts.

Running
inIt's been a lot of
discussion of the running in process, both on the Danish newsgroup for
motorcycles and a lot of other places too. When I received my bike, I had
a talk with Brit tuners TTS among others, read a few articles, and a chapter
in Camerons book; Sportbike Performance Tuning, available at Amazon for
$15 or so.

The essence of all these
articles, as well as the tuners recommendations, was that the information
in the R1 manual probably was a bit on the conservative side.

I was recommended to
give the engine a bit more load and revs than the 5K Yamaha claim is OK.
I was told to avoid hard load of the engine, and high revs should be constrained
to short bursts of just a few seconds.

For the first 200 miles,
I followed the exact recommendation in the Yamaha manual. Then I gradually
let the engine rev a bit more, only in 1st gear, and never for more than
a few seconds. At 500 miles, I had seen 8-9K in 1st, I had never babied
the engine, but never pushed it either. I gradually increased the revs
until I had done 1000 miles or so, and during the dame period, as the mileage
increased, I let the engine rev a little higher, and a little harder.

I discussed this on
the Danish group before I started this process, and many people warned
me about it. I was told I could get high oil consumption, that the ceramic
bores on the Yamaha could be damaged (funny enough, a tuner told me that
if I babied it too much, I would not get proper seal at the rings, especially
not with the hard ceramic bores...), and power would not be good.

Since I'd always followed
the factory recommendations on my previous bikes, and none of them had
seem to be particularly strong or well running (oil consumption), I took
the chance, and trusted the information I received from the "pros".

It seem like it paid
off. The engine has now run 9000 miles, uses no oil under normal driving,
and is definitely not weaker now than it was 7000 miles ago. I've run on
both semi-synthetic and fully synthetic oil, and it makes no difference
to consumption. On a trip from Germany to Denmark, where I pressed the
bike extremely hard on the Autobahn and Danish motorways, the engine used
2dl oil in 2000km. I think this is OK, especially since the R1 have forged
pistons, which normally tend to give a bit higher consumption than an engine
with cast pistons. This is due to tolerances, where a forged piston normally
need a bit more clearance than its cast counterpart.

Joerund Seim

Running
inI agree with Joerund,
and will be using a somewhat similar approach when breaking in my engine.
If the engine is treated too gently when first run, you will develop a
layer of extremely hard glazing on the cylinder walls, that will make it
all but impossible for the rings to EVER seal as good as possible. Frequent
bursts of throttle up to redline (But not holding it there), followed by
deceleration, will allow the rings to wear slightly, giving you the beginnings
of a good seal that should last for thousands of miles.Santo Jannotti

Carburetors: Jetting,
Idle, Adjustment

1With any aftermarket
exhaust, you will get this to some degree (sputtering below 3,000 rpm with
a full exhaust system), a 4-1 does it the least, if I made the needle leaner
so it wouldn't do that, then it wouldn't pull nearly as hard from 4000
and up, it's always a trade-off, this is where I felt the best compromise
is. To minimize it you can try lowering the needle 1/2 a clip position,
but first you need to make sure that your main jet is not too rich. You
need to see which pulls better... the 130 or, the 132, then change your
clip position, IT MUST BE DONE IN THAT ORDER, because when you change the
main, you change the mixture throughout the rpm range, even though it has
its most effect above 9000.Ivan

2With the stock exhaust
system, the jetting is 99.9% perfect.......don't mess with it. With a slip-on,
just shimming the needles .020" seems to be the ticket (note: Later tuning
experimentation with slip-ons suggests Ivan's needles are a better way
to go than shimming)

3M4 system, just raise
your main jets to a set of Mikuni 132.5's and back your air screws out
to 3 1/2 turns and enjoy the extra 13 hp

4MIG Slip-on: (Depending
on elevation), Keep the stock jetting, shim the needles with one DynoJet
shim each and set the mixture screw at 3 turns out.

Its been done alot and
dyno tested a lot..020 is a standard
Dynojet shim size

6For carb shims: See
your Suzuki dealer and ask for carb needle shims for a late model GSXR750.
They're more expensive but they're the right size.

7http://www.factorypro.comSee site support section;
select CV carbs. Shows what symptoms cause what, plus a link to show you
the proper way to set float height; also explains why it's necessary.

8Dyno analysis 101:An all gear run tests
the performance of the main jet. As you are looking at the 3rd, 4th, and
5th gear pulls you may notice that they have a positive slope (HP builds
over speed or time) instead of being relatively constant. The ideal all
gear run is flat for each gear, but with lots of HP. Lean conditions require
the engine to build HP slowly resulting in the upward sloping graph. A
rich condition (again, only on the main jet) would have initial high horsepower,
but the HP declines due to the abundance of fuel (bogging). In summary,
the all gear pull demonstrates the main jet efficiency. Upward sloping
indicates a lean condition, downward sloping indicates a rich condition.
Flat tells you that main jet is perfect.

9Proper way to set the
pilot screws: The 'quick & easy' way is to set it 3 1/4 turns out from
fully seated, which is the factory recommended setting. The most accurate
way, is to hook up a vacuum gauge to that one cylinder, and then adjust
it 1/8 turn at a time, until you get the highest vacuum reading.

10The difference between
a free flow and exup at sea level is small (no more than one jet size)
whereas at 6000ft you would have to be 3-4 jet sizes smaller. With a full
pipe and stock needles you need approx. 125's and with Factory (or Dynojet)
needles you need approx. 120's at 6000ft ! At that altitude approx. 5 -
8 hp can be re-gained by jetting properly.

11The fuel mixture screws
as they are commonly called , on this bike are actually air/fuel volume
adjusting screws. The actual air fuel ratio is set by the size of the pilot
jet and pilot air jet. By turning the "fuel mixture screws" you are actually
varying the volume of a predetermined air/fuel ratio. These screws have
an affect from idle to redline but only in the zero to 1/8th throttle opening.
I have found the best setting for this bike to be at 4 turns out from lightly
seated.

12 looks like I have
to copy this one by hand - appologies for typos - Mike . . .

Great exchange.

I recently bought a
Graves m-4 for my R1. Even with 0.0020 spacers under the needles, the area
between 3,500 and 4,500 is dead. In fact, the motor sounds like it has
a spark plug wire off. The top end is ok, but I can't live with the dead
area. Has anyone else had this problem?

Take those shims out
from under the needles and raise the main jet size by one instead. There
is a flat spot that occurres in that rev range which is as a result of
the bike running too rich. This is happening because of the exhaust sound
wave bouncing back through the inlet tract and [sending some of the intake
charge back out through the carbie - where it picks up a second load of
fuel, and coming back in, where it picks up a 3rd load of fuel] ingesting
an overly rich mixture as a result. [To some degree] This happens at some
point with all 4 - 1 and 4 - 2 - 1 exhaust systems. The only difference
is where in the rev range it occurres. Shimming the needles [to correct
a lean condition higher in the rev range] will only aggravate because it
brings the mains into play earlier.Santo.

Go leaner on the pilots
and floats and then sort out the mains. This is not normal practice with
other bikes but removing the EXUP requires that you sort out the bottom
end fueling. If you do the mains only, it will indeed be too rich and cause
the splutter. Factory recommended that the floats be set to 9mm.Nigel

Thanks guys, but rather
than go through the hassles of jet changes etc., I'm going to sell the
system and stay with my Yoshi slip-on, it runs great anyway and I guess
now I believe it in EXUP.Earl

I think you're jumping
to conclusions way too soon. I would not get rid of your M4. I also have
an M4, and if you change your main jets to 132.5s (taken you have the full
system) and back the airscrews out to 3 ~ 3.5 turns - you will love the
system. Much better than anything else I have put on the R1.Greg Crowe

One little tidbit for
you. Try synching your carbs before you do anything else.Mantis

14Idle should be around
1100-1200 rpm when fully warmed up. If it's lower than that, turn the idle
speed knob clockwise until you reach the desired idle rpm. If it's idleing
at the proper rpm and still having problems, the carb synch is probably
way out of whack.

15Set the idle speed
with the main screw, and then adjust the mixture screws like I outlined.
When you have it right, you will be rewarded with a smooth idle, and crisp
throttle response.

16The "screws" on the
R1's carbs: Controls both air, as well as fuel. In=leaner, out=richer.

17In my opinion, a properly
tuned CV carb will outperform a flatslide in every area except total mass
air flow, it continually adjusts total airflow preventing overcarburation,
it is just as tunable and has all the same circuits as the flatslides,
however the manufacturer of the carbs makes a large assortment of tuning
parts for the flatslides and very little for the CV's, if you want to come
up with your own combination, it is much easier to get the tuning parts
for the flatslides and thus easier to come up with your own combination
completely independent of a machinist or rely on another tuner, (keeping
your results a secret also). In order to have a ramair system function
properly the float bowl vents must be routed into the pressurized incoming
air stream (filtered and the correct diameter tubing used), and the inlet
to the system must be larger than any other part of the inlet tract.(look
at Kawasaki's designs especially in the last 3 - 4 years). Of all the aftermarket
systems that I have seen for the R1, the only one (In my opinion), that
could possibly work is the system from Over Racing. Without a Large area
inlet duct that reaches the higher pressure air at the leading edge of
the front of the motorcycle's upper cowl, I cannot understand how any of
the other systems could even begin to pressurize. You are correct 08R about
using large main jets due to decreased velocity (restriction) above the
carbs, (my modified box used main jets in the 160 range), this loss of
velocity in combination with the steep needle taper and large main jets
failed to atomize the fuel properly at low rpms and this is why there was
a loss of torque (it still had decent driveability but nonetheless still
a loss), It only equalled the stock system at the point where air velocity
was high enough to properly atomize the fuel. Suzuki uses an electronically
controlled flapper valve inside their airboxes to make their large intake
systems work well at more sedate normal driving speeds, when the engine
is drawing enough air to become within the operating range of the completely
open intake system then the flapper valve opens(I disconnected the vacuum
hose to the flapper on the 'busa, it ran terrible below 5000rpm, so I reconnected
it). I think that a lot of these principles are good, but how far do you
have to go to make them really work?Ivan

19There are three kinds
of Mikuni jets. Hex, large round, and small round. Ivan said to use the
small round. I can't find them anywhere local, but Ivan has lots of them
for $3 a piece. They fit the "well" in the bottom of the float bowl better,
besides its the style jet that Mikuni chose to use in our carbs, I see
no reason to use anything else.Ivan

20The carbs come stock
with Mikuni small head 130 main jets. The heads don't mean anything. A
130 large head is the exact same thing as a 130 small head except for head
being larger. I don't even know why Mikuni does that. The head has nothing
to do with performance. Every jet I've used on my R1 was a large head only
because that's what my local shop stocks.

21I use the all-gear
run hand-in-hand with the 4th gear run to work out jetting. When the jetting
is right, the all-gear run will be about 1-2 hp higher than the 4th gear
run.

If your 4th gear run
gives higher hp than your all-gear run, you are too lean. If you 4th gear
run is weak and your all-gear run makes 3hp or more than the 4th gear run,
you are too rich.

22Initially I had #140
Mains, with the needles set at the third clip position (when I installed
my Yosh) - no way to open the gas hard below 5,000 rpm. I got the #138
mains, gained 10 ~ 13 hp from the pre-Yoshi setup - still couldn't open
the gas hard below 5,000. The pipe was black after a city ride. Mechanic
lowered the needles by one notch, thus enriching the lower rpm even more.
(I was reluctant but I got that 'What do you know?' look.) I raised the
needle's clip two notches and the problem got much better, but still not
to my taste. (I found the mechanic forgot to lower the #1 clip by the way.)

So my question is this
- Is there some way to lean out the bottom part of the rev band (below
5k) aside from the needle's clip? I still have one clip position I could
go on the needles. If I bring the DynoJet needles to the bottom position,
will that do something bad?Speedborg.

You can try lowering
the [float] fuel level in 1mm increments, but your problem is probably
the needles you have, have got a 0.985" base diameter, compared to the
stock 0.995", is where the extra fuel is coming from before the slide begins
to lift or is just lifting, thus the larger main jets will cause more fuel
to be available - especially at low rpms / large throttle openings, especially
with your type of exhaust system (whether you want to hear it or not.)Ivan

You need to lean out
your floats, your mains sound too big and you probably need to go one size
larger on your pilots. (17.5s if you have 20s, 15s if you have 17.5s.)
If you use the stock airbox you can probably drill out your air jets from
120s to 125s. However you cannot do all of this at once. The procedure
should be that you get yourself off to a dyno with a gas anylizer. You
set up your floats first then your mains for maximum top end, your needles
for maximum 4k ~ 8k, and finally your pilots for bottom end - although
at the bottom it's probably more important to get it to pull clean on the
dyno in a 4th or 5th gear pull. You also need to do the mixture screws
and preferably balance on the mixture screws. (I do the floats according
to the jet-kit instructions first, as this also effects the maoins and
needles.)Nigel

23http://www.summitracing.com
for info on Summit's air/fuel monitor. Summit markets one manufactured
by MSD. The part number is MSD-8933. Cost is $143.95

24Carb float height setting
information: Before putting my Factory kit in I measured the stock height
to be between .260 and .275 inches depending on which carb it was.

I called Marc @ Factory,
and he says that the stock float setting, measured from the float bowl
gasket surface to the top of the *larger* float, is 7mm. Carbs are inverted
for this measurement. Looks like their info agrees with what I measured
(.275 in = 7mm). I still cant think in metric when it comes to precise
measures.

25According to the Yamaha
service manual, the stock float height is supposed to be between 4.1 and
5.1 mm. Mine were all about 4.5 mm stock. I changed mine to 6 mm and found
that it leaned my jetting out throughout the entire rpm range which required
a bigger main jet, which made my lower end even worse. Therefor I went
back to the stock float height and back down in main jet size.

26It sure seemed like
I lowered mine a lot more than 2 mm. If you're measuring with a caliper
make sure you use the same side of the float bowl gasket surfaces. I found
a 1 mm difference in the floats from side to side on the floats.

It's also a bitch to
keep the thing at a 90 degree angle to the float. I found an easy way to
do this for a couple of dollars. I get a shirt pocket 6" ruler with a T-shaped
adjustable pocket clip (Home Depo General Tool.) Set it up to the correct
height and lock it. The 1/4" blade is easy to keep at a 90 degree angle,
and the T just hits the top of the float.

The factory specs of
4.1 to 5.1 mm is using some kind of measuring device that measures the
float levels with the carbs all together and full of fuel. This looks like
a major pain in the ass and an 8 hour excercise in setting 4 float levels
where I want them.

Factory and everyone
else takes the bowls off, flips the carb upside down, and measures the
distance from the gasket surface to the top of the float. This is supposed
to be done without the little spring being depressed but I couldn't see
any way possible of seeing exactly what that spring was doing or holding
it in any consistent way to take consistent measurements. Therefore, I
just turned the carbs upside down, let the float rest in its natural position,
and measure all of the floats in their factory preset position, which was
about 4.5 mm.

With the carbs upside
down, raising the float level has the effect of lowering the fuel level
in the bowls and this will makke the mixture go leaner.

Raising the float level
is supposed to help hot operation rich conditions at low rpms. It was a
complete waste of time for me because by the time you raised your float
level and raised your main jet size to compensate for the additional lean
condition, the damn larger main jets were screwing up the low end just
as much as or more than when you started.

27The carbs come stock
with Mikuni small head #130 main jets. The heads don't mean anything -
a 130 large head is exactly the same thing as a 130 small except the head
is larger. I don't even know why Minkuni does that. The head size has nothing
to do with performance. Every jet I've used on my R1 has been large head
because that's what my local shop happens to stock.

28You can try lowering
the [float] fuel level in 1mm increments, but your problem is probably
the needles you have, have got a 0.985" base diameter, compared to the
stock 0.995", is where the extra fuel is coming from before the slide begins
to lift or is just lifting, thus the larger main jets will cause more fuel
to be available - especially at low rpms / large throttle openings, especially
with your type of exhaust system (whether you want to hear it or not.)Ivan

29You need to lean out
your floats, your mains sound too big and you probably need to go one size
larger on your pilots. (17.5s if you have 20s, 15s if you have 17.5s.)
If you use the stock airbox you can probably drill out your air jets from
120s to 125s. However you cannot do all of this at once. The procedure
should be that you get yourself off to a dyno with a gas anylizer. You
set up your floats first then your mains for maximum top end, your needles
for maximum 4k ~ 8k, and finally your pilots for bottom end - although
at the bottom it's probably more important to get it to pull clean on the
dyno in a 4th or 5th gear pull. You also need to do the mixture screws
and preferably balance on the mixture screws. (I do the floats according
to the jet-kit instructions first, as this also effects the mains and needles.)Nigel

30Stock [pilot jets
I think he's talking about]are #20, sometime #17.5. Mine was one of
the few with the #17.5. If yours are #14 then they are not stock. I'm not
sure who would make #14s as Mikunis go in increments of 2.5. Have another
look - I'm almost sure you'll find thay are #20s.

31P.S. Some people also
responded to the above that not all pilot jets were the same. They appear
to be different in some countries.

32 [is the same as
some of what appeared in #26 - I don't know why. There's been a few things
repeated here. I'm copying a lot of this accross by hand so I notice .
. .]

The factory specs of
4.1 to 5.1 mm is using some kind of measuring device that measures the
float levels with the carbs all together and full of fuel. This looks like
a major pain in the ass and an 8 hour excercise in setting 4 float levels
where I want them.

Factory and everyone
else takes the bowls off, flips the carb upside down, and measures the
distance from the gasket surface to the top of the float. This is supposed
to be done without the little spring being depressed but I couldn't see
any way possible of seeing exactly what that spring was doing or holding
it in any consistent way to take consistent measurements. Therefore, I
just turned the carbs upside down, let the float rest in its natural position,
and measure all of the floats in their factory preset position, which was
about 4.5 mm.

With the carbs upside
down, raising the float level has the effect of lowering the fuel level
in the bowls and this will makke the mixture go leaner.

Raising the float level
is supposed to help hot operation rich conditions at low rpms. It was a
complete waste of time for me because by the time you raised your float
level and raised your main jet size to compensate for the additional lean
condition, the damn larger main jets were screwing up the low end just
as much as or more than when you started.

33Do NOT stagger jet
the R1, it WILL loose top end hp. Do NOT drill the air displacement holes
on the slides, it WILL cause low end driveability to worsen dramatically.
Ask me how I know.Ivan

34Dynojet offers a viewer
that is very similar in function to their own dyno software that you can
download (runs in DOS). It cant do everything that the actual dyno software
does, but it has all the important bits to compare various runs and change
the axes on the graphs. Most dyno operators wont have any problems giving
you your runs electronically. It is pretty interesting to play with things
like graph smoothing and correction factor.

35For those of you that
use Superflo dynoes, they have the same type veiwer available, (but windows)
I will email one to anyone that wants one at olinskie@hotmail.com (email
me that you want it, and I will send it) and then you can just take a floppy,
to the shop, to take info home, with you to the shop, and if like me, other
peoples runs to compare.

In case they don't just
start at their main site. The domain name is dynojet.

36In stock form, the
air screw are all over the place. I've seen them set from 1/2 a turn out
to 3 3/4 turns out. Also, it's not uncommon to see all 4 air screws set
in different places from the factory. 3 1/2 turns out seem to be the generally
accepted setting for both a slip-on and a full system.

Move black rubber flap
on top of the carbs up out of the way and remove the fuel line and pull
the 2 black vacuum tubes off that come in from the top of the carbs.

Now the fun part, getting
to the little 3mm screws that hold each carb to the intake. First, take
a look at the exup servo unit(by carb #1, left side). It's just slid onto
a bracket with a rubber mount. Slide the whole servo unit off the bracket
and push it aside, that will give you more room to get to the carb screws.

Get a 3mm allen wrench
or a 1/4" drive 3mm allen socket and loosen each screw holding down the
carbs (get them very loose). Take your time, it's a bit tight in there.

Once the screws are loose,
gently rock the carbs back and forth until they come of the intake manifold.

The little screw/knob that
is used for adjusting idle speed is just slid onto a bracket on the left
side of the engine. Slide it off its little bracket. This will allow you
to pull the carbs away from the intake further and give you more room to
work. Unplugging the throttle position sensor will give you extra room
too.

You're home free now, rotate
the carbs so that the bowls are easier to get to. The bowls are on the
end of the carbs that was pointing towards the rear wheel (about 3 1/2"
x 2 1/2"). Each bowl is held on by 4 gold phillips screws.

One bowl at a time, remove
the 4 screws. They may be a bit tight the first time. The trick to loosening
them up is to get a good size allen head screw driver, put the head in
the screw, and whack it with a hammer a couple times. This will free up
a seemingly stuck screw.

Once you get the bowl off,
just unscrew the main jet. The main jet is approx. in the middle of what
was covered by the bowl. If you look closely, it will have a small "130"
stamped on the end.

Screw your new main jet
back in and replace the bowl. Do the next 3 carbs.

Fitting the carbs back
onto the intake can sometimes be a bit tricky. It helps for the intake
boot screws to be very loose. Try to rock the entire carb assembly back
and forth on the boots until you feel each end pop down into the intake
boots.

Tighten screws back down,
plug throttle position sensor back in if you unplugged it, reinstall fuel
line and 2 black vacuum lines (hint, a little WD40 on the vacuum lines
and a pair of needle nose pliers will help you get the lines back in place.
Put black rubber piece back over the tops of the carbs.

Slide the idle adjustment
screw/knob back onto its little bracket.

Reinstall airbox

Reinstall fuel tank, turn
on fuel.

DoneTom

And based on a previous
post where the plugs got 'gas fouled' with subsequent broken ceramic insulators,
cover the intakes before you tilt the carbs so no gas spills into the cylinders.DaveJ

Carb Synchronization1To synchronize your
carbs, there is a 6mm Allen head bolt located on the underside of each
intake port, and that is where you attach the carb stix. You will need
the 6mm adapters offered by Motionpro, to use them on the R1.

2How can you tell if
your carbs need to be synchronized: Usually, you will need to do it if
there is an uneven sound to the idle, or a slight hesitation/stumble at
low speed (anywhere from idle up to about 2,000RPM)

3Carb syncing involves
making sure each carb draws the same vacuum at low rpms from closed to
partially open. It really only affects the response from idle to something
silly like 1/8 throttle opening after that, the difference in vacuum is
negligible compared to the actual vacuum created at such a large throttle
opening. Ensures smooth transition from idle to partial throttle opening.
It is really important to do especially after you change the headers since
the motor now breathes differently per cylinder than they did when stock.

4

You need a carb sync
tool. A mercury stick works well, and can be bought from any well equipped
motorcycle store. You need a flat screwdriver to adjust the carbs, as well
as misc. spanners to remove the airbox etc.

Before you sync your
carbs, you should make sure that your valves are within spec, and that
the engine is in good condition (plugs ok etc).

1: Remove the seat,
and the bolt in front of the tank. Lift the tank up as high as possible.

2: Remove the airbox,
there are several screws holding the box together.

3: Under the carbs,
there are 4 bolts which need to be removed. It is a pain to get to them,
but take your time. I believe they are 10mm bolts.

4: Install the suitable
brass tubes which should be a part of the carb sync kit instead of the
4 bolts. Connect the tubes from the carb sync tool to the brass tubes.

5: Start the engine,
and run until it is warm. Let it idle at approx. 1100rpm, and compare the
readings on the carb sync tool. If the needles/mercury height or whatever
measurement the tool shows the vacuum, is the same for all cylinders, you
are OK, otherwise, you will have to adjust the carbs.

6: To adjust the carbs,
start with the leftmost pair. At the gas linkage between carb #1 and #2,
there is a screw to adjust them with. Carefully screw in or out until the
carb 1 and 2 is in sync. Very small adjustments are needed. When finished,
crank the gas and let it idle, and check the sync again.

7: Repeat procedure
6 for the rightmost carbs, carb #3 and #4. Then, adjust the balance between
carburetor #1/2 and #3/4. This is done with a screw between #2 and #3 carb.
Turn the screw in or out until both pairs line up.

8: Crank the gas a few
times, and re-check the readings. If they don't line up, repeat step 6
and 7.

The readings doesn't
have to line up 100%, I don't remember how much difference is allowed,
but I guess someone else can post the values, Santo perhaps?

5The bolts for the vacuum
fittings are 6mm, not 10mm.

For the adjustment procedure,
the number 3 carb is not independently adjustable, and is considered the
base. First adjust the #4 carb to the #3 base carb, using the screw between
them. Recheck tach, and adjust idle speed to 1000-1050rpms if required.
Second, adjust the #1 carb to #2, using the screw between them. Again,
check/adjust engine speed if necessary. Finally, adjust the #1/#2 set of
carbs to the #3/#4 set, by using the screw between the #2 & #3 carbs.

You really should do
the 1 & 2 carbs first, since doing them a little out of order can sometimes
force you to make more corrective adjustments than necessary to get them
all balanced.

6K&L sells a nifty
set of 6mm carb adaptors, they look to be steel in the catalog. They're
a 2-pc design; the threaded, main shaft screws into the ports, and then
a cap screws onto that. When the time rolls around for a carb synch, just
unscrew the ends and you're good to go!

Ignition1"Spec" for the R1's
ignition is published in the manual, as 55 degress advance @ 5000rpm. Since
the advancing of the curve is controlled by the black box, you could actually
find out if your stock trigger is 'off', by using a 'positive stop' to
first locate true top dead center, then with a degree wheel mounted on
the stator side of the crank, find 55 degrees before TDC, and then scribe
a mark on the ignition pickup/case area. button everything back up, hook
up a timing light, rev to 5000, and then look to see if the 55 marks you
made are aligned.

2RPM (Rohm Performance
Machine) ignition trigger. You can get one from Graves, they are $79.95.
Number is (818) - 902-1942.

3One of my observations
from playing with the advancer on my bike was 100% confirmed on this 2nd
bike. As you increase the ignition advance, it leans out your fuel mixture.
This bike was way rich to start with and we just watched that rich condition
completely go away by the time the advancer was cranked up to 5 degrees.
We put it back on 3 though as that gave the best results on this bike.

4The spark plug cap
screws onto the wire, and many times, the act of pulling the wire/boot/cap
off of the plug, can strain this area. Once you have the cap off the plug,
grasp the plug wire firmly, and thread the cap onto it, until it is tight.
(Turn it clockwise, if you are looking at the plug end of the cap). If
the cap is loose on the wire, it can definitely cause misfiring of the
plug at low speeds.

5Dynajet ignition boxes…How does an ignition
advancer work? The real problem here is that what we're talking about is
not an advancer at all, it's the "trigger" that signals the crankshaft's
position, so the black box sends the signal to the coils to fire the plugs.
In older bikes, part of the trigger assembly included two spring loaded
weights, that used centrifugal force to alter the relationship of the trigger
position relative to the crankshaft, depending on RPM. The trigger is now
rigidly mounted on the crankshaft snout, and the ignition advance curve
is completely handled by the black box in modern bikes like the R1. What
Rohm / Graves is offering is a trigger that is mounted on a plate with
three Allen-head bolts that are sitting in slots. This gives you the ability
to fine-tune the trigger's position in the slots, then tighten the bolts
back down. When the bike is running, the signals will be shifted by a fixed
amount determined by how much you moved the trigger on the plate.

8The superchips unit
is capable of being programmed with an ignition MAP (read: curve(s)) So
for _example_ with it you will be able to obtain:0 degrees from say
0-2,000 rpm3 degrees advance 2,000-6,0003.5 degrees advance
from 6000-10,0001 degree retard from
10,000-12,000in gradations (a curve)
(advance vs. rpm)I have installed quite
a few in cars and no, the differences are not as noticeable as reprogramming
FI, but the gains are there nonetheless.

9Reply: I'll bet even
though they list a part number on their website for an R1, that they don't
really have it available or have even taken into consideration that the
R1 black box has DIFFERENT IGNITION MAPS/CURVES FOR EACH GEAR.

Air Intake, Airboxes1The Attack setup is
the least restrictive of all the ram air setups currently being offered
for the R1: SantoJ

2I've been running a
3/8" aluminum shim under the screw that holds the front of the tank down.
This lifts the tank and provides more area for the air-box to suck air.
That area, in my opinion, is bigger than the area underneath the bike between
the frame and the tank.

3Greg's strategy of
raising the fuel tank to let more air in is exactly what Kevin Curtain
with the Australian #1 National Pro-superbike R1 has done. He lifted it
by about 7-10mm approximately.

4Johnny Rocket just
raced an R1 with the attack box and their kit in a 2nd thru 6th roll-on
on this past Sunday, in front of a few friends, the attack equipped bike
had a Full Akra, 175 lb rider and dymag wheels, John's bike has only the
full Akra, and my needles, and 132.5 main jets, John weighs about 240 with
his gear on, John beat the attack equipped bike by at least 6 bike lengths
by the end of 5th gear. The attack airbox's inlet when installed, is positioned
above the radiator and does not protrude out at all. Wes, I will NEVER
agree with you on this one... nor will I get into any heated argument either,
anything else that I have tried to increase the power of the R1 (STOCK
ENGINE, NO INTERNAL MODS) has resulted in a waste of time.Ivan

Cams1My cams are degreed
at 108/100 (which was the stock setting) and seems to be the best for my
bike. I am surprised to see the 105/102 figures.

2

Standard R1 cam specs

Stock intake cam specifications:

Stock exhaust cam specifications:

lift - 7.35MM

lift - 7.75MM

duration - 268 degrees

duration - 276 degrees

intake cam opens at 32 degrees before TDC

exhaust cam opens at 66 degrees before BDC

intake cam closes a 56 degrees after BDC

exhaust cam closes at 30 degrees after TDC

lobe center - 102 degrees

lobe center - 108 degrees

3It appears to me that
Yamaha's 5 valve engines seem to prefer cam timing in the 108 ~ 109 degree
intake and 100 ~ 102 degree exhaust, because I attempted to improve the
performance of my 1988 FZR1000 and had spoken to two different cam manufacturers
and one other tuner. They recommended a 105 intake and a 104 exhaust. Before
I removed my stock sprockets I checked my cam timing and found it to be
109 intake and 100 exhaust. The end result of moving the cams to 105 /
104 was to produce a bigger dip below 3,000 rpm, a 2 ~ 3 hp gain from 3,000
to 6,000 - equal power from 6,000 up to 9,500 - and the power ended abruptly
there. I put the stock sprockets back in and got the power back to where
it ends at 11,000 rpm just like before.

As far as finding the
correct ignition advance without a degree wheel, it can be done by installing
a dial indicator into the #1 or #4 cylinder, zeroing the indicator and
using it to find top dead center. Scribe a mark on the engine cases and
one on the ignition rotor. Then, using an adjustable timing light,set the
adjustment to 55 degrees and run the engine at 5,000 RPM. If your marks
line up then you're set to factory specification. Make sure you wear an
apron and goggles because oil may come out of the open crankcase.Ivan

4See section on Ignition
for reference:I really don't want
to get into an argument with you over this, but the method you describe
for finding top dead center is not really that accurate. While a dial indicator
down the plug hole will tell you when the piston has reached the top of
the bore, it will not tell you when you've reached top dead center. When
the piston reaches the top of the bore, it will stay there (on the R1)
for almost 1.5 degrees or crankshaft rotation, before it begins to descend
back down the bore as you continue to rotate the crankshaft. How long the
piston stays at the top of its travel is a function of connecting rod length
for the given stroke. The longer the connecting rod used for a given stroke,
the longer the piston will sit there. This is exploited heavily by tuners
building turbocharged indycar engines. They use connecting rods that are
as longs as possible, so much so that some move the wrist pin into the
ring-lands area, necessitating the use of wristpin buttons that have ring
grooves cut in them. All so that the piston can stay parked at top dead
center while the cylinder pressure builds to the moon. This can be seen
with the dial indicator. Slowly bring the piston up to the top, and you
will be able to continue to rotate the crank with nothing at all happening
to the dial indicator, and then it will finally start to move again as
the piston starts to move down the bore. As Greg Crowe's dyno testing of
the adjustable trigger shows, a difference of only two degrees can have
a noticeable effect on power. In my opinion, introducing a 1.5 degree variable
into something like this is counter productive to what you are trying too
accomplish in the first place. A degree wheel only costs $15 and is far
more accurate. Finally the terms "top dead center" and "bottom dead center"
are actually references to the point that is centered exactly half way
between the two points of crankshaft rotation, during which the piston
stays stationary at the top or bottom of the bore. Hence the terms "top
dead center" and "bottom dead center."

5I agree, Santo. It
was just another method - less complicated but less accurate. I enjoy using
my precision tools, as you do, but not everybody has them.Ivan

6I have been back to
the dyno today. I increased my compression ratio to 14.5 : 1 with no ill
effect and I have no detonation whatsoever on pump gas. I have set the
cams to 106 / 107 and have been able to get 170.6 rear wheel horse power
and 104.5 nm from 8,500 to 11,000. The3 bike absolutely rips.

The cam timing is still
not right however and I will be moving them around tomorrow to see what
happens - 110 on the inlet at least. I believe there's still another 5
bhp in the equation. It puffs fuel at the moment, but seems to enjoy that
over a leaner setting. (Strange, but I think it is the timing and compression
at this altitude - 6,200 feet.

4To do the head and
degree the cams was $2,000 CD or around $1,350 US. That is not bad considering
they got 157.3HP out of the bike with a slip on on the bike. They said
ship them the entire motor and they would ship back ready to go straight
back in the bike. The only down fall is they have about a 3-4 week turn
around time. "The bike carburates great from idle up with no hesitations
or flat spots anywhere."e-mail address: gobak@home.comRichard Bak at BRC,
Calgary, Ontario

6gobak@home.com
Internet address of a serious bike modifier, performance, painting, everything157-160HP (with just
a slip-on vs using a full system) from decking the head, cleaning up the
ports (with out any reshaping), 5 angle valve job and played with the cam
timing. Around $1,300 US. Turn around would be around three weeks.

7Jerry Cooper at Cooper
performance in Ga, used to work at Star racing, about $1,000 to $1,200
to do the head and said he would expect a 10% gain in hp.(912)-922-7600

2Both JE as well as
Wiseco, offer standard bore, and 2mm oversize piston kits for the R1. The
R1's cylinder bore is electroplated with a ceramic composite in a process
that is somewhat similar to the Mahle corporation's Nikasil electroplating
process, but is more durable. There are currently only four shops on the
North American continent that can replate the R1's cylinders with the Nikasil
process. Both Attack Performance, as well as Orient Express have installed
these kits. Figure on spending in the vicinity of $1,200.00 for the pistons
& replating, with you supplying a disassembled upper cylinder case,
with the cylinder studs removed.Santo Jannotti

241mm Keihin FCR's w/tps
is $1,015.00 (supposedly dealer cost). Call Carb Warehouse, you can get
them for around $1,000-1,100.You do not need the
adapter plates if you aren't using the airbox and just run velocity stacks.
We tried the set up both ways and found the set works much better if you
don't us the airbox and just run velocity stacks.

6LO-KO Coatings, and
ask for Johnny!!! Phone # is 708-424-7863. Tell him that you were recommended
to him by Tim from Aquatrends. Another coating company

Dyno Runs, Results,
Use, Tuner Tips, Math, Big Bore Kits1Some dyno basics. If
your 4th gear pull is making more hp than your all-gear pull, you're probably
too lean. If your 4th gear pull is 4-5 hp lower than your all-gear pull
(which is what we saw in the beginning on this 2nd R1), then you are probably
too rich. When too rich, you will see a funny looking all-gear run where
the hp seems to jump quite a bit from 3rd gear on up. Also, you'll see
the hp peak at the beginning of 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th and then immediately
fall off. When your 4th-6th gears in the all-gear run has a perfectly flat
line at the top of each gear, you're pretty close. Those are just generalizations.
They help me figure out which way to go with jetting. I always keep going
until I see the hp level off or drop from successively high main jets.
A lot of times you'll find 2 main jets that perform almost identical. In
that case, always go with the leaner jet. When you're out on the streets
in 95 degree weather with your engine at 220 degrees, you'll be glad you
went with the leaner jetting.

2hp=torque*rpm/5252That's why all power
and torque curves cross at 5252rpm.

3I have just got off
the phone with Chris Bladan who is the creator of the 169 hp R1 in the
August issue of SuperBike. He is amazingly open and frank in his comments
and the information regarding his bike and some other Yamahas that they
have done. He tells me that they have just done a tear-down on the R1 engine
- no problems, and they were able to extract another 6 hp. (175 rwhp.)

Contrary to the information
that we have received, Wes, he has given me 106 / 107 [I / E] as a good
bet. They used Over cams, and by all accounts the cams are very similar
to mine in all respects.

There is a kicker though.
They're R1 runs a compression ratio of 14.5 : 1 on good old super unleaded
pump gas!! He tells me that they run their 600s at 15.5 : 1 and even they
run on pump gas. He said they tried running it on afgas [AVGAS ? ]
but says that the burn is not right (something about being too slow) so
they still use good race fuel or pump gas. He says the old WSB YZFs ran
0.034 squish at 14.5 : 1 and they can still run on pump gas. He says that
the real issue is to be sure that the squish is not more than 0.034 inch
and that the pistons have no hot spots (sharp edges) and it will not detonate.
This is all made possible by the very efficient burn capabilities of all
modern motorcycle engines.

I personally think that
one needs to take all of the information that one has gained and try too
find the best cam settings for one's own bike. Number 2 - heads are ported
equally, compression ratios, squish, and everything else varies from bike
to bike. I will do my small increment adjustments until I find a suitable
setup for mine. I will post the results. I do not feel however that these
will be the best for everyone.

4If all you want is
155 at the rear, remove the cylinder head and send it to a quality shop,
such as Attack Performance. They will port and polish it, do a full radius
valve job, and mill the head slightly for a 13 : 1 compression ratio, which
you can still use pump gas with. An M4 exhaust is less expensive than an
Akra and will give you comparable gains. With your stock carbs properly
jetted and these two mods, you will be in the vacinity of 160 ~ 165 rear
wheel hp.

5Attack will charge
somewhere between $1,300 and $1,500 to do the head. There are no downsides
whatsoever to doing this (other than the initial price) and you're not
going to get some kind of radical drag-race setup. The ports will be cleaned
up and mildly reshaped, resulting in a 10 ~ 14% improvement in flow. Taking
20 ~ 30 thousanths off the deck surface will give you an excellent boost
in midrange performance, as this is where the raised compression makes
the most improvement. The full radius valve job will allow for higher flow
and increased turbulence for improved combustion efficiency.

6If you add the Attack
airbox, along with a set of higher lift cams, you will be in the vacinity
of 170 ~ 175 rwhp, and the FCR flatslides will add another 3 to 5 on top
of that.

I would not recommend
that you change the wheels, unless you really want to. Anything lighter
is going to be made out of magnesium, and cost upward of $1,800.oo along
with being brittle. Carbon Fiber wheels are over $4,000.oo so they're pretty
much out of the question for the average street bike.

I would seriously consider
getting the front forks revalved, along with a quality rear shoch, such
as the ones offered by Fox, Ohlims or Penske.

By the way - before
you do any of the above, get yourself a good steering damper. The stock
bike is a handful as it is with the headshake situation, and boosting the
performance will only make it happen more often.

7The best gas for your
engine is the gas with the LOWEST OCTANE that does not result in detonation/pinging.
The higher the octane, the slower the fuel burns.Greg Crowe.

Faster burn usually
means more hp. I run 89 octane in my R1.

END OF SECTION -
Mike

EXUP

1Ok, here's the dirt,
with or without the resistor it feels the same, maybe a VERY small amount
better at part throttle with the resistor, under 6000rpm, in my opinion,
if you want to get rid of the servo, the resistor is the way to go...,
I did not try to play with the T.P.S yet, (pain in the ass to get at without
lifting carbs). I think that you must use this size resistor, If you don't
you may not get the proper timing map. I did not get the 7000rpm warning
when turning the key.Ivan

2Ivan, you are so cool,
that I think you deserve to live in California!I just found (stole)
a 7.5 ohm 1 watt resistor. I was worried about how I was going to attach
it without hurting the wiring harness. But now I have the confidence to
just cut the wires on the servo (fishing weight) side, and solder and shrink
wrap the sucker permanent like.I'm officially putting
this string to rest, unless someone can without a doubt, prove otherwise
to Ivan's opinion. Be aware, if you try and are wrong, you will go down
in flames "BIG TIME"!!!This new string will
be called "The Ivan Seat of Pants Servo Challenge!"I will buy dinner for
the challenger if they can prove "without a doubt" that the servo is better!

3If you don't want to
cut your harness, call me, so I can tell you what parts to get, or better
yet, I can make something for you. Ivan

4Whoah there boy! AugiDawg,
wasn't that resistor supposed to be a 7.5 K ohm! Note the K...

There is a thousand
times difference in value between 7.5ohm and 7.5Kohm. Big difference.

Now some problems, resistors
don't come in 7.5kohm. The closest you would get is a 6.8kohm, or a 8.2kohm.
Best bet is join two in series (a line) to add them together, and you could
use a 4.7kohm + 2.7kohm, giving about 7.4kohm. Should be close enough.

Resistors are only a
few cents, so I recommend getting the best ones; you can go for "2 watt
metal film" will cost 20c each instead of 5c each. Sorry to be such a nerd
guys.

5I just got off the
phone with Ivan. He looked at the book and confirmed that it is 7.5K ohm.
That is what he used for his tests. The part # from radio shack is 90-556.
It is a metal film 1/2 watt 1% accuracy resistor.If you read the whole
string, you might get confused like I did. I did run the bike yesterday
with the 7.5 ohm resistor. It seemed to run fine with no diagnostic code
on the tach. But Ivan said, that 7.5 ohms is very close to just the jumper
wire value of zero ohms, and the ignition mapping may not be at full advance.
So I guess that just a little resistance keeps the computer from seeing
a fault.

6To actually bypass
the CDI EXUP programming, do the following.....There is a 4 wire connector,
and a single white loose wire coming from the EXUP servo motor, and they
both plug into the wiring harness. Disconnect both, and take the white
wire off the wiring harness, and connect it to the red striped black wire,
which is part of the 4 wire connector, again on the wiring harness side.
Remove the EXUP servo motor, and you are done. I asked if this was dyno
tested, and the response was that it was, with no loss of power in any
gear, in both the mid-range, as well as at high rpm. In operation, the
bike will display the diagnostic one time at initial startup, and then
function normally. The racing wiring harness for the R1 that is being offered
by R C Sugo, has this modification already done. (Harness cost is $495.00....stock
is $100).

7

1-1999 YZF-R1 with full
yosh duplex stainless steel 4-2-1 pipe2-stock carbs with
138 main jets,3.5 turn out on the mixture screws,stock yamaha needles shimed3-dynojet springs with
one throttle slide hole plugged on each slides4-QBCARBON ramair system
with homemade nose extension(to be further developped with 3 air intakes
thanks to QBCARBON side panels), new oil,plugs,oil filter,cleaned air filter,new
clutch fiber plates,shagged chain.

dyno;temp was at 22c,and
base runs were done 20 minutes or less before the final runs(after servo-motor
ditching). We did 3 w/servo 4th gear runs with an all gear run(3rd,4th,5th)immediately
after. same thing for the w/o servo-motor runs.

carbs problems;it appears
that i need to un-plug the throttle slide holes,go back with the dynojet
needles,and maybe run the carbs with 2 springs in each carbs(the stock
one+dynojet)to cure the 4-5000rpm stumble...but that`s not what we are
looking for here.

how to do it:unplug the servo motor
(1 4wires plug+1 loose plug)and throw it as far as possible;the loose wire is white
with a red stripe;you cant miss it.jump it with the black
with the red stripe from the plastic plug...thats it!

note:check the consistency
between the 4thgear+all gear curves without servo with the one with the
servo;you`ll be able to see that they are the same

8Borg, thanks for the
test results. A lot of us have been wondering what is really going on with
that exup servo motor.

Despite all the whoopla
I'm reading, I still see very real differences on these dyno charts that
are consistent across the board on each chart. There appears to be a loss
of hp/torque below 6K and a gain above 6K(on the 4th gear run). To me that
would prove out the theory of different ignition curves in each gear. You
are now probably stuck with one/the same ignition curve in all 6 gears.
The 4th gear hp and torque charts show this clearly.

What would REALLY be
interesting would be to do the exact same back to back one-gear tests in
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. The upper gears don't need as "hot" of a timing
curve as the lower gears.

Borg, what I'd really
like to see if you have it is a chart of the all-gear runs together, both
with and without the servo motor. I'd like to see if some gears improved
on peak hp and others lost????

9I don't think any of
this has to do with what gear the bike is in- it has to do with the ignitor
changing the timing depending on what position the servo is in.

With the help of a manual,
a multimeter, and some thought, I've determined the "jumper" makes the
ignitor think the EXUP is stuck shut. Not open. The white/red wire is the
variable resistance wire- it's the wire that tells the ignitor where the
EXUP is at. The white/black (+) and yellow/blue (-) are also part of the
"position signaling" portion of the exup. You'll note the TPS is exactly
the same- it even shares leads off the + and - wires and has it's own variable
resistance wire. The black/red (+) and black/yellow (-) are for the motor.
So, connecting the black/red and white/red wires without any resistor will
make the ignitor think it's stuck shut.

If I were to guess,
I'd say this retards the timing resulting in less midrange and more on
top. So, for anyone going to the dyno soon, you might want to try something
different. Either connect the 3 wires mentioned above but not the motor
and try some dyno runs while turning the servo's output piece each time
noting its position. Then pick the best run and set the servo to that position,
measure its resistance, buy a resistor put it between the 2 jumper wires
and you're set.

Or, buy a few resistors
(I think the manual said 0-7.5) so, buy a 2.5, 5, and 7.5 and do dyno runs
with each. Then choose the best one. Both of these are just ways of determining
the ideal ignition setting by fooling the ignitor into thinking the exup
is in different positions.

To Ivan or anyone going
to the dyno, since my bike is in pieces, I can't do any testing myself,
but I really want to know what's up with this. So, if any of you are willing
to humor me I'd be glad to pay for 5 dyno runs with your bike as long as
you have a multimeter to measure the resistance of the exup in different
positions.

10Just to clarify, I'm
only will to pay for the dyno runs if someone responds 1st and agrees to
do it- so that way 50 people don't do it and expect me to pay. Ivan? Also
the 5 runs need to be done like I want- then I (and we) will be sure about
all this, which is the point of me paying in the 1st place.

Also, in case you were
wondering I determined the jumper thing makes the ignitor think the EXUP
is stuck SHUT, not open, by noting the starting position of the exup servo.
The servo rotates clockwise pulling the #2 cable. If you look in the exup
opening you'll see this pulls it open. I would have thought any "jumper
mod" would make the ignitor think the exup is fully open. Then (per the
manual) I measured the variable resistance of the servo which should be
between 0 and 7.5 ohms. In the starting position it was 0 (or very little
depending on its position) and its resistance went up as I turned it clockwise-
which will open the exup.

Anyway, to further clarify
how I think the dyno runs should be done, it's like this. Do one with the
jumper- this is the same as stuck shut (0 ohms). Do one with the exup plugged
in per normal- this should be optimal, I would hope ((varying resistance)
0-7.5 ohms per the manual). Then use a multimeter to determine the position
of the servo output where it reads 2.5, 5, and 7.5 ohms- you could draw
little marks on the servo the signify the position. If anyone is confused
by this part- I'll do this to mine and send it to you. Then simply do 3
more dyno runs after hooking up the yellow/blue, white/red, and the white/black
wires, but not the other 2. You'll need 3 short pieces of wire to do this.
The motor will not operate, but the positioning signal part will. The 3
runs will be after setting the exup output to the 3 previously determined
positions. Doing this (in mentioned order) will simulate the exup being
stuck shut, as normal, stuck 1/3 open, stuck 2/3 open, and stuck open.

Alternatively, (in the
same order) do one with the jumper, one with the exup, and 3 more with
a 2.5, 5, and 7.5 ohm resistors instead of a jumper wire. This may be the
easier route since one of the resistors may be the best and that will be
the prefered mod, not just a jumper wire.

Anyway, I hope this
clarifies what I was trying to say, so, Ivan or whoever, please respond
so we're clear and tell me how much it will cost. Geez, I hope I'm correct
on all this. In the end, I don't need to know what the ignitor thinks,
just what resistance the white/red wire sees (aka what position the exup
would be in if it were there) to get the best ignition curve.

08R

If any of this is unclear,
let me know.

11Let's look at some
of the possibilities. I imagine the ignition timing is calculated by reference
to a three dimensional map, burned into an E-PROM. It would include RPM
on one axis and throttle position in another, and the result would be read
off the third. In addition, there'd be small correction factors added for
things like ambient temp, coolant temp and so forth. In this case we have
a separate map for each gear. We know how the gear selection is established,
that's no mystery. We know that there is a signal returned from the exup
motor, and now we know that zero ohms means fully shut and 7.5 ohms means
open. So far so good.Does the ignition timing
map also have hold values for the exup? Is there like a second 'layer'
to the map(s) that describes the action of the exup with relation to throttle
and RPM? In that case, does the return signal merely confirm that the exup
is doing what it should?Is the exup controlled
by some separate mechanism or circuitry, and the value returned from the
exup position sensor used to apply some predetermined correction factor
to the already calculated ignition timing figures, as in the case of the
ambient temperature sensor and coolant temperature sensor?These seem to me like
the two most likely possibilities, but they are by no means the only possibilities.
Perhaps the maps are '4 dimensional' rather than three. In that case the
ignition timing gets read off as a function of RPM : throttle : exup -
position & (by virtue of the multiple maps) gear selection. Or possibly
there's a little processor that gets these inputs and calculates timing
based a programmed algorithm, rather than reading it off a map at all.
Who knows? As I said the other day, Yamaha have been singularly unhelpful
in explaining how it works.Mike

12Ok. I did the tests
today, one is with the stock servo and the jumper wire, one is with a 7.5k
ohm resistor as a jumper, the wire (no resistance loses power slightly,
while the resistor duplicates the stock servo, in my opinion no power gains
at full throttle, I will drive it tomorrow and see what seat of the pants
feels like. Maybe it will be a little better at part throttle. Its an easy
thing to test. Heres the graphs. Humidity was 80% today. Ivan

13Ok guys, run #8 is
the stock servo, its on both graphs, run #4 is with the jumper WIRE, run
#6 is with the 7.5k ohm resistor installed. run # 6 is virtually identical
to #8, so I am assuming that is how to get rid of the servo, I still want
to ride it tomorrow to see if it still responds the same or maybe better.
Ivan

14Hi Speedy, the resistor
that I used is a 7.5k ohm resistor, you can buy them at Radio Shack, they
cost less than $2.00ea, I will check the wattage and tell you tomorrow.
With the jumper , the bike made about 1.5hp less at peak, and slightly
less in the mid-range than with the servo installed, if you want to duplicate
the resistance as with the servo installed then you have to use the resistor.
With the jumper wire, it is the same as if the EXUP valve was closed, with
the resistor, its the same as if the EXUP valve was opened. I personally
won't get rid of the servo unless the driveability is improved without
it. I think I will try messing with the throttle sensor if there is no
improvement from the resistor, it worked on the 9R, maybe it will work
on the R1. I'll keep everyone informed. Ivan

15The resistor that I
used was 1/2watt, 7.5k ohm, with an accuracy of 1%, for everyones info.
glad to be of help.

16Well this confirms
that you don't loose anything at full throttle, so the next scientific
test would be back to back runs at 3/4 , 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 throttle. But
that wouldn't demonstrate response to changes in throttle setting. I think
the only reasonable way to do this is to get Ivan to ride the bike for
a while and see if he can detect any change from stock by the seat of his
pants. I'd tend to trust the seat of Ivan's pants more than most dynos
anyway. It's up to you Ivan - let us know what you think.My opinion would be
that if Ivan can't notice any real difference, we can all (all the full
system people) safely remove the servo and wire up a 7.5 ohm resister and
forget about it. I'd regard that as a very satisfactory conclusion to the
whole question.Mike

17Hey everyone,it seems like Ivan
has settled this for the most part. Not a lot of difference with or without
a resistor- although it's slightly better with one. Not close to the difference
Speedborg got with the jumper though.

I think I may have figured
out a way to stop the 7,000rpm tach thing too, I'll post the results soon.
I used the jumper method as soon a I got my Akrapovic and felt the drivability
was suprisingly good. So, personally, I'm going with the resistor even
if I can't fix the tach. Augi

Already standard equipment
on the Yamaha R7 and Aprilia RSV Mille SP, the new Ohlins R & T fork
is now available for the R1 and the Ducati Hyper Sport 748, 916, 996. The
fork will be delivered as a bolt-on kit and fits straight onto the bikes.
The new fork is based on technology straight from Ohlins championship winning
superbike fork. It features the same upside-down design. The inner steel
legs have a 43mm diameter and a polished titanium nitride surface for lowest
friction. Damping is handle [sic] by Ohlins uniques cartridge damping system,
and both rebound and compression damping, and spring preload, are externally
adjustable. The surface features Ohlins "Golden Touch" that breathes both
performance and precision.

10Ohlins "Race &
road" forks. They are basically the same as the forks on the R7, Mille
Sp etc. More info at http://www.ohlins.nl
goto the NEW section.

Having said that, they
really are amazing in their performance. The damping is really superb,
even when comparing to my old Race-Tech modified forks, which were no slugs.Joerund Seim

11Attack Performance
triple clamps: Top shelf stuff for sure. Keep in mind that with adjustable
triple clamps, you will lose the ability to use the steering lock function.
If you can live with that, the clamps are great. This is not unique to
the Attack pieces, it's just that when the triple clamp is moved forward
in relation to the steering head, the bar that comes out of the ignition
tumbler will no longer reach the frame stop. The Attack clamps come with
three sets of eccentrics (0, 2, 4 mm), that can be reversed, for a total
of 5 different positions. Eccentrics are available in 1 mm increments from
0 - 6, and if you decide that you want to try a different set, you can
exchange for a different size for free, or purchase additional ones for
$50.00 a size.Santo Jannotti

12I should have said
mm, NOT degrees. Sorry for any confusion. The eccentrics are reversible,
and the effect is to move the forks either forward or backward in relationship
to the steering stem, but without changing the angle of the forks. The
eccentrics are paired, in that you need to change the top & bottom
at the same time. Attack cautions that you are NOT to do anything like
put a 4mm on the top, and a 2mm on the bottom, as the holes for the eccentrics
are perpendicular to the plane of the triple clamps, and to to do would
result in an unsafe, binding condition. Starret? Nah, Brown & Sharp
is the best, with Mitutoyo running a close second.Santo Jannotti

13The Attack clamps come
supplied without a provision for the ignition cylinder. They offer a nice
bracket for this purpose as a $25.00 option, and will drill 2 6mm holes
and mount it for you. When I ordered mine, I also asked that they tap holes
to mount the master cylinder reservoir, as well as a provision for brake
line keepers.Santo Jannotti

14To fit a set of those
(WSB Ohlins forks) properly on your bike, you will be shelling out almost
enough to buy another R1. If you like the look, but can't handle the load,
Ohlins has a much more reasonable set, which is called the "Road &
Track" forks. They are identical to the ones that come on the R7, and will
directly replace the forks you now have, with no other changes or parts
necessary. They have a suggested retail of $2,495.00. The WSB forks in
my pic, retail for over $7,000.00.Santo Jannotti

15I just reinstalled
my forks last night, after they were modified by Phil Douglas of Aftershocks.
He is located in Palo Alto, CA. I had him installed heavier Race Tech .95
springs, and both rebound and compression Gold Valves (he used his own
valving rates though). I also had a new pair of fresh fork seals installed
while the forks were apart. Let me tell you, the man is GOOD! Even just
on the way to work this morning, I could *instantly* tell what an improvement
his mods made. The bike dives much less on the brakes, and the bike floats
over the poor excuse we have for streets here in the city. The revalved
rebound circuits prevent the front end from popping back up so quickly
after hard braking, too; the compression and rebound adjusters actually
work! The total charge came to $190 (it would normally be $150, but additional
machining R1 forks require added $40 to the total bill); still, a 3-day
turnaround, plus Phil being a very approachable guy, makes for repeat business
in my book! I highly recommend this alternative to Lindemann or Race Tech.
Aftershocks can be reached @: (650)-494-8849, or e-mail Phil
@:D318s@aol.comJeff

16The above fork work
was completed using 5W "Rock Oil"

17>Jeff, what was the
extra machining for? And was the>price inclusive of
parts, or did you supply the parts?

I supplied the parts.
My forks required machining because of Race Tech's rebound Gold Valve kit;
the inner rod must be cut and modified so that the pin and spring that
is part of the kit sit within the central rebound tube. Now, Phil can also
modify the *stock* rebound valve, but he states that it's a pain in the
ass, as the stock valve body is peened onto the main shaft and not designed
to be removable or tunable. It must be ground of, and the shaft threaded
for a retaining nut. He can modify the rebound circuits either way, but
recommends that the customer go the rebound Gold Valve route (you can either
supply the parts, or he can order them through his shop), due to the simple
fact that a)it's a bit less time-consuming for him to install, and b)since
it's "tuneable" via changing the shim stacks, you can bring the forks to
a higher level of performance. I just got off the phone with him, and he
says that if y'all have any questions, feel free to e-mail him at D318s@aol.com.JeffPS: I just learned
that he also de-slopped my slider bushings on the inner tube. Nice touch!

20A cool tip for setting
fork tube height. Use a Pit Bull front stand, pull the wheel and clamp
one tube at the desired height. Then instead of measuring the second tube,
adjust it to you can finger thread the axle without any resistance. The
tubes might not measure exactly the same at the top triple clamp (mine
don't, about 1mm off), but the actual length will be dead nuts.

2American Turbo will
offer a 6 inch longer than stock swingarm for the R; box bracing like the
stock setup, mfg by a former Harris Performance employee. Retail cost to
be around $900.00, with availability starting sometime in May, '99.http://www.americanturbo.com

4Three series of Penske
shocks for R1. All three have the same preload adj. the same ride hieght
adj. the rebound adjs.(25-30 clicks) the difference is in the compression
damping. The 8981 series has 6 compression adjs controlled by a rotating
drum ($725.00). The 8986 series has 20-22 adjs. controlled by a shim stack
simular to the one used on our main piston.($895.00). The 8987 series has
independent high and low speed adjs($1125.00) - any questions call 610-375-6180.These prices are in
Canadian $, I believe

7YA 801 Ohlins rear
shock for the R1 with the hydraulic preload for $714 US + $25 US shipping.Wim.Kroon.Import@inter.NL.netcredit cards accepted.
;the YA801 is the application 46PRCLS, which is fully adjustable shock,
ride-height included! The reservoir is piggy-back, but horizontaly-mounted;
the same shock,but with the reservoir mounted vertically (like ours) would
be the 46PRCS. Both have remote hydraulic preload. Price ranges from US$750-900
depending on dealer/retail pricing.

9R1 with a VFR single
side. The work was done in Calgary, AB, Canada at BRC Engineering/Racing
(403) 216-0630, talk to either Richard Bak or Riley Will.

10I think the note below
has to do with Ohlins rear shocks. Someone tell me if it doesn't

11Earlier models came
standard with a 9.0 spring. This has been changed recently to 8.5. Spring
choices are available from 7.0 up to 10.0, in 0.5 increments. Tell them
what you want when you order.

12For the R1: I weigh
about the same as you, I use the 8.5kg spring at the rear, and .95 springs
in the forks. It is stiff, but not uncomfortable. It doesn't jump over
bumps, I actually find these spring rates perfect. Try them out, you will
probably love them.

13DeWayne Jones will
modify the stock R1 shock shim stack and lengthen the shock by 5mm for
$ 175.00! This is an absolute steal at that price as the shock can be tailored
to your exact requirements as well. His phone number is 909 626 2751 and
he works out of his home. He assists some of the fastest riders on both
sides of the border.

3The old (bad) sprocket
carrier is part #4XV253600 whereas the replacement (good) is 4XV25360 R1.
Also if you take yours out the bad ones have TUSHIMA YES stamped on them
but the replacement ones don't

4White Lightning Chain
Lube. I clean my chain with WD-40 really good, as previously mentioned,
then I go ride the bike until it is physically warm to the touch (not just
around the block). Then I spray a thick coating of chainwax on it and let
it dry for a half hour. For me, this lasts between oil changes (3-4k miles).
My last chain had 21k miles on it when I traded in the bike and no signs
of needing a new one.

61998 R1 owners: Look
VERY VERY CLOSLEY at your cush drive and you may see the cracks develop
before it fails. Use a magnifying glass if you have to.

7The only problem with
the cush drive, is that Yamaha in their quest for saving weight, made the
drive dogs hollow, instead of solid. The JT motorsports cush drive has
solid dogs.

8The JT cush drive is
not non-flexible, you still use the stock rubber pieces with it. Just the
drive dogs are solid instead of hollow. The operation is the same as the
stock piece. 4XV-25366-00-00 - The original 98 cush drive Yamaha part number
4XV-25360-R1-00 Is the replacement "kit" that has the updated cush drive,
studs, nuts, and rear wheel bearing already installed. 4XV-25366-10-00
- The new updated or '99 cush drive itself without the other stuff. There
is only 1 difference between the original '98 cush drive and the updated
version. There are 6 "ears" that stick out of the cush drive hub itself
that go between the rubber pieces in the rear wheel. Those "ears" are completely
hollow on the original version. The updated version has about 1/2 the ears
volume filled in with metal.

8I installed an aftermarket
chain adjustment bloack from Intuitive Racing last night. The company claims
that their block prevents axle creep when peforming that final tightening
of the axle nut. For a long time I guess I was living in denial, because
I sure didn't notice it. But when I checked and adjusted my chain last
week, sure enough, the damned thing refused to stay where I put it after
I torqued up the nut. I was lucky to spot the adjuster in the local shop
($24.95). A comparison between the stock adjuster and the aftermarket offerings
reveals that the Intuitive piece has a slight radius on the inner side
of the axle opening. This pretty much matches the radius that can be seen
on the rear axle, just where the thread ends and tyhe solid shaft begins.
The stock adjuster has no such radius.

The true proof of the
pudding occurred when I went to tighten the nut. Before and after measurements
of the axle revealed no slippage, compared to the stock setup. The only
thing that puzzles me is the large clip that was included in the kit. Where
the hell does that thing go? I guess the nut has to be drilled for it.

1aI used a round thin
file to make the mounting holes into slits (to bring the mount further
away from the tack). Then I had to file the Ohlins mount so it didn't hit
the ignition switch. The slits brought the 97mm measurement (as indicated
in the BW instructions) to 95mm. Very happy with it now.

1bI have just installed
a BW with Ohlins and I did two things that weren't in the instructions.
I mounted the bracket at 95mm instead of 97mm (this requires that you trim
the Ohlins bracket so it doesn't hit the ignition switch). I also put some
clear hose under the screw that mounts the main swivel (this stops the
damper from clattering when you hit a bump or come down off a wheelie).
Everything now fits great (full end to end movement!) I use setting 8 (out
of 16 on the Ohlins).

2TobyR1 Toby shimmy damper
kit (part number 4707020). "I like the Toby damper because of the way it
mounts out of the way under the gauges."

4Scott's1aThe Scott's unit offers
independant adjustment of both low, as well as high speed operation. No
other steering damper offers this kind of flexability. This allows you
to do things like set the high speed setting fairly stiff to control headshake,
while not having to arm-wrestle your bike at parking lot/city speeds. I
consider something like this to be a significant advantage over conventional
steering dampers, since you do not have to keep readjusting the damper
all the time.Santo Jannotti1bThe dampers are assembled
with extremely high quality hydraulic oil, se240 for you tech buffs. You
can use any good suspension fluid or if in a pinch a standard thin 2.5w
or 3w fork oil will work. The advantage to using good oils is stability
under temperature and load. We recommend in our manual for the self-servicing
consumer, Bel Ray HVI 3w or Spectro Ultra-light suspension fluid. The damper
will take almost anything but the different viscosities will affect your
control settings just as your shock or forks would. Again, most road bikes
will probably never need servicing under normal use. The Factory R6's have
not been serviced yet after a season of racing so far.Scott

5Lockhart "Riv-Nut Kit"
to secure the end of shimmy damper to the frame. Cost: $12.50. The alternative
is to secure the end of the damper to the existing connector on the side
of the frame; it fits inside the main fairing, but the downside is that
you have to remove the plastic "faux-carbon" panel on the inside of the
upper fairing (or modify it).

7If a "916" style Ohlins
damper with carbon fiber / aluminum brackets is your preferred product
then call QB carbon in the UK # 011-44-115-989-4468. It is better than
the Harris one and cost $422.00 delivered to my door in Florida in one
week. Well made, full steering lock, no drilling or mods required! I tried
4 different dampers & spent 4 months looking before I bought this.
Call John Merryll he is the owner. The also have other great parts for
the R1.

9Just bought the brand
spanking new BOLT ON version of Scotts Steering Stabilizer for my '99 R1.
Installed it in 20mins. This thing KICKS SERIOUS ASS!!!! No drilling required.
The kit came with detailed instructions, an allen wrench, and even lock-tite.
Fit and finish are excellent. I had a question about proper use of grease
and Scott (the owner) called me back twice! Once to give me the help I
needed and another time to make sure everything went well. Service was
bar none. I highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a damper.

11Just bought the brand
spanking new BOLT ON version of Scotts Steering Stabilizer for my '99 R1.
Installed it in 20mins. This thing KICKS SERIOUS ASS!!!! No drilling required.
The kit came with detailed instructions, an allen wrench, and even lock-tite.
Fit and finish are excellent. I had a question about proper use of grease
and Scott (the owner) called me back twice! Once to give me the help I
needed and another time to make sure everything went well. Service was
bar none. I highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a damper.

10A recent issue of Cycle
World discussed having the rear shock on their long term test bike rebuilt
by DeWayne Jones Performance Suspension (909/626-2751) for $175. For that
amount, "Jones altered the valving, increasing both compression-and rebound-damping
resistance. Overall length also was increased by 5mm for improved cornering
clearance."

4My ideal settings,
using the bike 90% in road and 10% in track, for my weight (70 kgs.), are
the following:Front:Rebound: 2 clicks out
from maxPreload: 4 lines outCompression: StockRear:Rebound: 2 clicks out
from maxPreload: 5th position
from minCompression: 5 clicks
out from max

6I have significantly
reduced my front end wobble by setting my suspension and tire pressure
per settings I received from Troy. Those of you that have had the same
problems might want tinker with your set-up. Troy's set-up:Front:Preload=4 lines showingComp.=3 clicks from
maxReb.=3 clicks from
max

Rear:Preload=5th ramp from
full softcomp.=5 clicks from
maxReb.=1 from maxTire pressures: Front
32psi / Rear 30psiSteering damper set
near full loose/ to start with.

7Those are my settings
and are what has worked best for me at Willow Springs Raceway. I weigh
150 lbs and had to use a lot of preload to gain more ground clearance.
I did not post my settings on the forum because I know they would not work
for everyone. But I e-mailed them to Phil because I run D207GPs and have
had many different weight riders (150 - 200 lbs + ) ride my bike with those
settings and experience no stability problems and I figured this would
help him determine if his D207GPs are the main problem. If anyone is having
straight line stability problems, try the above settings, but what works
for each person while cornering will be much different, and more dependant
on weeight and riding style.

8I have changed my suspension
settings to get the bike dialed in for me, including using triple clamps
from Graves. One thing to think about is riding position. Part of the high
speed handling on the bike is related to front-end lift, particularly bad
on this bike - IN MY OPINION. Someone posted something recently about sitting
at the tank, when tucked in, contrary to my usual, and it helped, as did
changing my ride heights slightly to change the wind angle. Taking off
the mirrors to ride it to track days (so all I have to do when I get there
is tape the headlight and the taillight) made a difference bigtime noticeable
in this lift. The mirrors cause turbulence which disappears when removed,
but also the front-end lift gets worse and the bike has a little more drag.
The lift is real noticeable, the extra drag, less so. (You can top out
on a measured area, then take the mirrors off and you will see it takes
longer to top out.)

The lift becomes
really more noticeable as it will wheelie much easier through the gears
at full throttle. As the horsepower has not changed this is really evident,
even in 4th, it will come off slightly (1/4 inch ~ 1/2 inch) whereas it
does not with the mirrors on.

If you do not
believe me, cool - but it is easy to check for yourself, get a road out
in the middle of nowhere and try it for yourself, it will be a real eye
opener, trust me, you'll see for yourself.

Suspension
Set-up1Here is a old trick
to aid in fork adjustment. Put a tie wrap around one of the sliders, but
not too tight or you will damage the dust seal. Every time you get off
the bike, look at the position of the tie wrap and move it back up. I weigh
200 lbs (dry, before beer and hot dogs) without helmet and leathers. The
front I added two lines of pre-load, compression is 3 clicks out from minimum
and rebound is 6 clicks out from max. The rear spring pre-load is at minimum
(soft), the compression is 2 clicks out from minimum and the rebound 5
clicks out from max. When I do a wheely, the front almost bottoms out but
not quite. During heavy braking, no wheel hop. Feels stable in corners,
but if I hit a big bump or some washboard ripples, it stays on track. Stock
Dunlops with 36 p.s.i. in front and 40 in rear.

3Rear suspension setting:Position 7 / 9 for
compression is probably too much - especially for a 150 lb rider. Go back
to 5 or even 4. Increase the rebound damping. Does that [REB] also have
9 steps / clicks? You might want to try more spring preload and 7/9 or
8/9 on REBOUND, but only 3/9 for compression. (Good for handling and stability
on the road).

4Check suspension settings
by turning them all the way in and remembering how many clicks, (so you
know where you were) and how many clicks out they will go, any clicks past
what the manual says it has for adjustment generally will not do anything.

5Note: He only weights
126#

Hugodm"s suspension settings

Front:

Rear:

Preload : 6 rings (=stock)

Preload : 4 (=stock)

Rebound : 6 out from max (= 1 more than stock)

Rebound : 7 out from max (1 more than stock)

Compression : 6 out from max (= 1 more than stock)

Compression : 10 out from max (2 more than stock)

6From FastBikes May
'99.Bit of an article on
suspension setup and they ended up taking their R1 to James Wilson (ex
GP mechanic, racer and now runs Set-Up suspension) for a tweak. No internal
tweaks permitted with the budget given. After a road test - "Very shakey
with harsh feedback through the bars going onto bumps. Crossing road repair
joints under acceleration caused the whole bike to leave the ground. Feels
like too much compression damping. Rebound may be OK, we'll find out after
compression settings achieved."

Rear: "very harsh
rear, kick in bum going onto bumps and harsh clicking just before wheel
touches earth again, topping out means not enough rebound, the major cause
of the dreaded hi-side. After tweak to rear "got somewhere near approaching
control possibility but have reached the shocks max/min capability so no
further dialing in is possible."

Front: " Minimum
compression, maximum rebound, minimum preload has made the fork action
smoother but is still too harsh to get away from severe bump steering coming
off the brakes mid corner, even a ripple while tipping in upsets it as
the suspension loads up for the max lean angle."

"This is as good
as it gets without spending money... To take our R1 a stage further it
would probably benefit most from a simple fork re-shim, a little " less
oil in the forks and a lower deck height".

7I think the sag (above)
is wrong on the rear. 7 to 10mm is not enough in my experience. The Rear
sag should be between 25 and 28 mm and the front should be between 34 and
39 mm. The author makes the point that the clicking sound from the rear
on unweighting is a result of too little rebound damping.

I think part of
the problem is too little sag. Sag is the most important adjustment you
can make. It sets the operating range for your suspension. With sag adjusted
properly, you can work on the other settings.

FRONT

original

new

Top-out

506mm

506mm

Ride height

472mm

466mm

Sag

34mm

39.5mm

Rebound

2 off max

max

Compression

5 off max

all off - dead soft

Preload

6 rings

8 rings

Deck height

3mm

3mm

.

.

.

REAR

original

new

Preload

4 from min

2 from min

Top-out

526.5mm

526.5mm

Ride height

519.5mm

516.5mm

Sag

7mm

10mm

Compression

5 off max

11 off max

Rebound

6 off max

max

This
comment added by Mike while copying over - not part of SHILOH's spreadsheet.With
the one possible exception that I'd try less than maximum front rebound
damping if I found the front ratchetting down and causing patter, those
are almost exactly the settings I'd use on the road. It's nice to see someone
thinks the way I do.

8I note with interest
that FastBoys advise settings which are similar (in concept) to what I
suggested -1 - fairly normal amount
of preload / sag at the back2 - a bit more than
normal sag : less than normal preload at the front3 - not much compression
damping at the front4 - about average rebound
damping at the front5 - very little compression
damping at the back6 - as much damn rebound
damping at the back as you can getThis is not to say
that I'm right or they're right, just that I find it interesting that we
think the same way.

9Kevin Curtain who won
Production Superbike and Formula Extreme on a R1 last year ( in Australia
) dropped the forks through the triple clamps (raised the ride height)
after grinding away the alternator cover and having to retire in the first
race of the season. He uses a Penske rear shock with the ride height adjusted
about 15mm. He consistently has sparks flying from his bike, not knee scrapers
or footpegs, when cornering. I am not sure how much he raised it as he
wouldnt say.

10First Person: Club
racer's Guide article on Roadracing world is a great help when your are
trying to set up your suspension. Specially from June '98 foward.

13I noticed the front
end "pushing" with the standard d207's but when I went to GP's it went
away. On the track I was out cornering other R1's and noticed no problem
with the front. I also have a Ohlins rear shock with the ride height adjusted
up 21mm and the front forks are standard except for two clicks each on
rebound and compression.

14I was at the track
last Saturday. I noticed the front end pushing near the exit of a long
bumpy corner. I came back in and talked with my friend about it. He suggested
that I back off on the rebound damping two clicks (I was running one click
out from max because the R1 has little rebound damping). Backing off on
the rebound damping completely solved the problem. I am running 207GPs.
I can't imagine riding hard enough on the street to feel the front end
push. At the track the R1 was very well behaved, even in 100+ mph knee
dragging corners.

15My advice: Put the
rear preload in the 6th position, put the rebound and compression two clicks
out from max, fit a steering damper and do not fit tyres with triangular
profile.

Make_model Yamaha
R1 : year - 1998 onwardsFront:The forks on the R1
are probably the best pair of roadgoing forks fitted as standard suspension
to a bike, however they still have their problems if ridden hard or raced.
The springs are soft and bottom under heavy breaking. This depends on your
rider weight and again, how hard you ride the bike. They also don't have
enough rebound damping. We modify your forks, fitting harder springs to
suit what type of riding you do and also your rider weight. We also revalve
your cartridges, increasing the rebound damping. We also replace the existing
hydraulic bump-stops with spring bumpstops, which eliminates the severe
patter which occoures when the forks bottom out. This also gives the rider
more feel mid-corner when pushing the front end. The fork conversion costs
185.00 pounds plus worn parts. Seals are 14.00 pounds and bushes are 18.00
pounds - (ALL PRICES EXCLUSIVE OF V.A.T.) We feel that once converted the
forks are the best set of standard forks fitted to any bike.

Rear:The rear - again -
is good for general road use, although the spring may be a little soft
if you are above the average weight of rider. The other problem with the
unit is that it doesn't have enough compression damping and over the first
5mm of travel in the shock, there is a fault with the unit where there
is hardly any compression damping at all. This causes the bike to sit down
a little when exiting a corner, making the front feel light and twitchy
or nervous on bumpy roads. This is only temporary as the spring helps the
bike recover. You can not cure the problem by revalving the unit and therefore
all we can do is supply you with a replacement unit, which is a Maxton/Koni
unit that is fully adjustable via a shim-stack system and has a spring
to suit your rider style and weight. There are two types of unit, one with
a remote resevoir that has a second compression damping adjuster on it
that costs 440.00 pounds, and without that costs 395.00 pounds. Both are
fully adjustable. We reccommend the remote resevoir unit if you are racing.

Other info:The staunchens on these
forks don't screw into the bottom rackets deep enough for the amount of
leverage on the backets from the breaks. This has been a problem on other
Yamaha forks in the past, and after a certain milage we feel these forks
will leak. Obviously this depends on many things, like how many pot-hole
you run through, how many wheelies and stoppies you do, etc.

Steering Damper
Clamp diameter - 54mm.

18Regarding Maxton's
information - I must say the information they provided was exactly the
same as I got from 2 other suspension tuners. The general consensus from
the mall was: Start with the rear shock, then do the forks. And further
- the forks need springs to match your weight, and better rebound. Compression
is fine for most people and use.

Having had these
mods done myself, I must say it certainly transforms the R1's handling.
Flicks more easily, holds a tighter line, smooth instead of harsh over
bumps, no sqaut.

19I installed the valves
myself and it's fairly straightforward. I've explained the technique for
dismantling the forks before, in a previous post. Search and you should
find it. [ Well I wish I could find it - Mike.]

To change the rebound
valves (I assume you have at least got the rebound valves, they are what
you need the most) you need to heat the bottom of the cartridge to 120
deg C, to be able to remove the compression valve. The compression valve
is Locktited in, and it's impossible to break the seal without heat.

From the pushrod,
remove the screw at the middle, then the two split-rings and the rubber
bump-stop. Then slide the whole unit down the cartidge and out.

Put the pushrod
in a wrench (there's a holder for it with the rebound kit) and remove the
old rebound valve at the end of the pushrod. Install the new rebound items,
following the instructions in the rebound manual, and you should be fine.
When you install the pushrod, it's a bit tricky to get the seal around
the rebound valve into the cartridge. Take your time and you'll be fine.
Remember to use Locktite on the rebound valve to the shaft, and the nut
to the rebound valve. Be careful not to use too much Locktites as you [stand
the] risk to block the valve. Check it all before assembly and use compressed
air to remove any dirt in the valve or inside the pushrod.

You need to cut
the rebound adjustment rods. The procedure is described in the manual that
comes with the kit. Make sure they are not too long or else you risk blocking
[jamming?] the needle in the valve and you will need to open the forks
again.

When fitting the
cap on top of the forks to the pushrod, make sure the nut is exactly 11mm
from the top of the shaft. Longer down [sic] and you risk pushing the needle
too far down and [completely] block the rebound valve. Before you assemble
the forks, check that you have the correct amount of clicks on the rebound
adjuster. Too few means you didn't remove enough from the rebound adjustment
rods.

Regarding installation
of the compression Gold valve: It's quite easy, just follow the instructions
that come with the kit.

That should be
about it. If you decide to do the work yourself, and become in doubt about
anything, feel free to send me a mail. [Which I'd do in a flash if I
knew what your e-mail was . . . ] You can also call Race-Tech who'll
answer any questions you might have. [Ditto...]

20 [ is the
same as #7 under Reccommended Suspension settings.]Those are my settings
and are what has worked best for me at Willow Springs Raceway. I weigh
150 lbs and had to use a lot of preload to gain more ground clearance.
I did not post my settings on the forum because I know they would not work
for everyone. But I e-mailed them to Phil because I run D207GPs and have
had many different weight riders (150 - 200 lbs + ) ride my bike with those
settings and experience no stability problems and I figured this would
help him determine if his D207GPs are the main problem. If anyone is having
straight line stability problems, try the above settings, but what works
for each person while cornering will be much different, and more dependant
on weeight and riding style.

21 [ is the
same as #8 under Reccommended Suspension settings.]I have changed my suspension
settings to get the bike dialed in for me, including using triple clamps
from Graves. One thing to think about is riding position. Part of the high
speed handling on the bike is related to front-end lift, particularly bad
on this bike - IN MY OPINION. Someone posted something recently about sitting
at the tank, when tucked in, contrary to my usual, and it helped, as did
changing my ride heights slightly to change the wind angle. Taking off
the mirrors to ride it to track days (so all I have to do when I get there
is tape the headlight and the taillight) made a difference bigtime noticeable
in this lift. The mirrors cause turbulence which disappears when removed,
but also the front-end lift gets worse and the bike has a little more drag.
The lift is real noticeable, the extra drag, less so. (You can top out
on a measured area, then take the mirrors off and you will see it takes
longer to top out.)

The lift becomes
really more noticeable as it will wheelie much easier through the gears
at full throttle. As the horsepower has not changed this is really evident,
even in 4th, it will come off slightly (1/4 inch ~ 1/2 inch) whereas it
does not with the mirrors on.

If you do not
believe me, cool - but it is easy to check for yourself, get a road out
in the middle of nowhere and try it for yourself, it will be a real eye
opener, trust me, you'll see for yourself.

22OK, I was thinking:You've lowered the
forks 5mm, that means you now have them around 14mm higher in the clamps
than before, right? I believe you will be better off if you set them at
no more than 11mm.

There are several
reasons for this, some of them dependant of each other. Drop the forks
to much, and you will suffer ground clearance, but you will also reduce
feel to some extent, and grip may suffer too.

I do not believe there
will be a clearance problem at 11mm, but take the measurements I described
earlier to be sure. It's silly to risk a crash because the front fender
hits the yokes or fairing.

If you don't suffer
any ground clearance problems, you are not going very fast through the
curves, and hence, you should be fine with a slightly slower steering and
more stability. Set the forks so that approx. 5mm is visible above the
upper clamp.

Dropping the forks
put more weight on the front, unless you are fast on the gas in the curves,
you risk overlading your front tire, the front may slide and you will probably
crash.

All in all, I believe
there are gains to be had from dropping the forks, but it would be much
better if you could raise the rear instead. That would give the same benefits,
but you would get rid of the risk of decking out too early. If you can
get hold of a 5mm shorter rear shock linkage, your bike will lift 11mm
at the rear, and make the shock a bit more progressive with it. That's
what I would do if I didn't have an adjustable shock. Hope this helps.Joerund

23Two things that can
be changed are the fluid (sometimes switching brands or viscosity can help
with stiction). The other and more expensive alternative is getting the
fork tubes coated with something like titanium nitride.

25In very general terms,
the rule of thumb is...the harder you ride, the harder the compression
settings should be. Rebound does not need to be set much harder, as you
want to allow the wheels to track the surface without skipping or skimming
over bumps.

26From http://www.race-tech.com
:For road race bikes,
rear sag is typically 25 to 30mm. Street riders usually use 30 to 35mm.
Bikes set up for the track are compromised when ridden on the street. The
firmer settings commonly used on the track are generally not recommended
(or desirable) for road work.

Front end:Street bikes run between
25 and 33 percent of their total travel, which equates to 30 to 35mm. Roadrace
bikes usually run between 25 and 30mm.

28The greatest gains
come from the rear shock. I have re-valved and resprung the front, and
while this did make the bike better, it was nothing compared to the gains
from my Ohlins shock.

Actually, I believe
the stock shock would be fine if it just had ride height adjustment and
a stronger spring. With more power you will experience more squat, and
the spring is much too soft for your weight anyway.

I therefore suggest
you start with the rear. If you don't want to get a new, expensive shock,
get a new spring to suit your weight. (8.5 should be a good place to start.
And get a shorter linkage - should be 5mm shorter to lift th rear a bit
over 10mm and increase the progression. The adjustable one from Canada
is nice, but much too expensive in my opinion. These mods have been tested
in German mags. The 5mm shorter link gave the best combined handling.

Combined with
a stronger spring you should be well off. Then, you could always have RaceTech
revalve your shock, which should make it suit you better.

After you've done
this, you can think about the front. Get stronger springs to suit your
weight. I guess 0.90 or 0.95 should be fine. Get teh RaceTech rebound kit
- and that is it. Compression on the R1 forks is good, but you could always
ask someone for an altered compression shim stack for an R1 if you want
one. Buying the RaceTech Gold valve compression valve is ok, but really
not necessary. There's not much to be gained there.

29Don't bother with the
revalving, save your money up and go for the Ohlins I think the to your
door price is about $750. I did the revalving on my cbr and it was soooo
much better than stock, but no where near as good as the Ohlins.

30You may want to consider
.95 springs. Computrack set mine up with Racetech .95 springs, and they
actually tested out at .93. I only weigh 185 in full gear, and my front
end does not feel harsh at all. You don't need nearly as much preload or
compression damping as with the lighter springs.

31It still requires a
fair amount of counter steering to change direction at high speed, but
the package of fork rework and Ohlins shock made a drastic improvement
in steering precision, stability, and its ability to hold a line without
wavering, even on rough surfaces. Also, I think a major factor in the oversteer/understeer
characteristics is tire selection.

32After I got the Ohlins
shock, and increased the ride height to max (rear lift 11mm), high(er)-speed
turning definitely became easier and more precise. On a stretch of road
I ride fairly often, I used to go through a lot of s-cruves at around 80mph.
Before I got the Ohlins, I really had to muscle the bike to hold a tight
line at this speed, but with the Ohlins installed, the bike was no longer
reluctant to turn, and both higher speed and tighter lines was easy to
obtain. Compared to the R6, for instance, I still find the R1 a bit hard
to turn, but it has become much, much better, both at high and low speed
turns.

33I have not had the
opportunity to do any track time since the fork mods and .95 springs. As
Charlie says, the ride is plush. Have no fears for .95 springs.FWIW, Lindemann recommended
1.0 springs. I know it is hard to make these decisions when you get so
many inputs. My choice was between Race Tech's and Lindemann's recommendations.

34Here is a little food
for thought should you decide to play with your geometry. As I'm sure you
can understand, you will hear different version depending on who you talk
to, so for perspective, this is based on experience with my old racebike(GSXR)and
tuning by GMD.

Basically you
are looking at four important factors. Rake, trail, wheelbase, and swingarm
angle. Suspension heights (front and rear) effect all four of these, and
each of them accomplish a different thing. You basically have to understand
how they work together and what a change in set-up does to each. That is
not something easily explained in a post, so let just look at the question.

Triple clamps
effect trail only. Rake is effected by changes in the attitude (ride heights
and steering head angle).

Less offset =
equals more trail = more stability. You effectively reduce the machines
willingness to deflect the front wheel. The common misconception is that
this SLOWS your steering down, which is not true. It will increase the
steering EFFORT, but rate of turn is a function of rake.

So to actually
slow your steering, you would have to increase your rake, which would only
happen by lowering the rear ride height, or going with taller front tire
profile/shorter rear.

So other than
tire profile, tires main effect have to do with ride height, so you have
to get the spec from the manufacturer to compensate.

Typically, rear ride
height are done by racers to optimize swingarm angles (effects drive and
traction) and get the right rake angles(speed of steering)for given tire
combinations and ground clearance issues. Once those are set, they use
a particular steering head eccentric to get the right trail numbers (effort
and stability).

Street folks jack their
back ends up because they think it looks cool and see racers do it. Generally
its the wrong thing to do, but it speeds steering (perceived as easier
to steer) to the detriment of stability, but they dont ride at speeds where
its an issue. Some folks like a twitchier feel. So it really preference
for street use. But if you go to the track (which I know you do), you may
want other settings.

35>Street folks jack
their back>ends up because they
think it>looks cool and see
racers do>it. Generally its
the wrong>thing to doCould you explain why,
more exactly? On the R1, there's not many other possibilities to quicken
the steering, and personally I haven't experienced any ill effects. I haven't
been to the track since my latest changes though (see my post yesterday
in the Aftershocks thread)Joerund

lets assume that all
other adjustments are static and you are only changing rear ride height.

As you raise the
back end, you are decreasing your trail, rake, and wheelbase, while increasing
the swingarm angle. The effect will be noticeable as the bike will turn
in quicker and with less effort. But the tradeoff is that it is less stable
(high speed) and may have a tendency to fall in at the front. Another important
thing is that you will lose considerable front end feel, so you can lose
the front more quickly as slides will be less linear and less controllable.
In my opinion, that is why raising the back on its own is a bad bad bad
thing. Obviously, rear ride hieght is one of the adjustments that can have
the most effect on geometry.

Now for most street
use, that may be OK as folks dont tend to ride the front as hard and will
perceive the easier steering effort as better handling. Again a preference.
When we ride on the street, I think we tend to be a lazy bunch (I know
I am) and like the bike to flick in with just a tap on the bars, but the
R1 demands that you really mean it. It will reward your efforts and steer
plenty fast. like anything, you get out of it what you put into it

Now in your case,
you have a different front end (fork length and where they are in the triple
could have changed your front ride height)and probably different tires,
so I wouldnt know where your current set up is. So it you set your front
ride height higher (unintentionally) and raised the back at the same time,
you may have netted out the changes with the exception of a bit more ground
clearance.

Perceptions are a big
thing. What you might try to satisfy your curiosity is go out for a little
ride, then bring the back end up 5mm to 10mm without changing anything
else and ride it again, then set it back and ride it again. You'll see
and feel the difference.

In Jeff's case,
the offset's most critical change is in the trail not the wheelbase. The
marginally effected wheelbase is a collateral change you could almost ignore.
If you raise the back to get the wheelbase shorter, you just lost what
you gained by changing your triple clamps offset to get more trail as trail
decreased when the back end went up (vicious circle isn't it??).

The best thing
anyone can do is measure their ride heights and geomtry before making changes
and change one thing at a time and measure the effect to make sure your
headed the direction you want to go before changing other things.

36>controllable. In my
opinion,>that is why raising
the back>on its own is a bad
bad bad>thing. Obviously,
rear ride>hieght is one of the>adjustments that can
have the>most effect on geometry.I haven't tried my
setup on the track yet. For agressive steet use, it seems fine though,
and I think I have a lot of feedback from the front. Before I raised the
forks the last 4mm, the bike had a pronounced tendency to run wide. But
as you wrote later in your post, I don't know the distance from the wheel
axle on the stock forks, I may very well have the same ride height at the
front now, as when I was using the stock forks.

snip...

>So it you>set your front ride
height>higher (unintentionally)
and>raised the back at
the same>time, you may have
netted out>the changes with the
exception>of a bit more ground>clearance.But the higher CG would
also make the bike steer quicker, wouldn't it?

>What you might
try to satisfy>your curiosity is
go out for a>little ride, then
bring the>back end up 5mm to
10mm>without changing anything
else>and ride it again,
then set it>back and ride it again.
You'll>see and feel the difference.Can't raise the rear
more than the 11mm I have at the moment. Of course, I could lower it, but
that would proably make the tendency to run wide come back. Raise the rear
or lower the front, the result should be the same, or did I miss something?

snip...

>The best thing
anyone can do>is measure their ride
heights>and geomtry before
making>changes and change
one thing>at a time and measure
the>effect to make sure
your>headed the direction
you want>to go before changing
other>things.Agreed, and I should
have done this before I got the Ohlins installed. The bike was at my dealer
though, and I got it back with the Ohlins forks on, and the old forks disassembled.

Like I wrote before,
if anyone would care to masure the distance of the stock forks (while fully
extended) from the wheelaxle to the top of the upper tripple clamp, I would
really appreciate it.Joerund

37With respect to measurement.
The best way to measure the front ride height is select a point of reference
(I usually use the bottom of the steering head) and measure the height
with the forks extended, to the ground (perpendicular). Measureing to the
axle may not work for you as any difference in fork stroke between stock
and Ohlins would make that length different, and it is not telling you
how the tire factors into the equation. For example, a Metzler slick is
taller than a Dunlop slick (for the same size) by about 10mm, So changing
tires effects height thought the forks were not moved.

I am assuming
that when you say you raised your forks, you pulled them up in the triples,
which lowers your front ride height. This will quicken and reduce effort,
and would tend to lessen a tendency to "run wide" for the same level of
steering input.

You are right
in that droping the rear and raising the front are similar. Generally,
you get more change with the rear than with the front for small amounts.

If you still have
your old forks, you should check and see how their overall extended length
compares from the cap to the axle. If they were put into the triple so
that the caps were just over the top clamp like stock, but they are longer,
then you may have raised your front ride height quite a bit. That would
of course make your bike steer like a truck.

38I've snipped different
parts from your last 2 answers to me.

snip..

>fall in at the
front. Another important>thing is that you
will lose considerable>front end feel, so
you can lose the front>more quickly as slides
will be less linear>and less controllable.
In my opinion, that>is why raising the
back on its own is a bad>bad bad thing.

I do not disagree to
the general theory behind your arguments, but being a bit more specific;
Raising the rear on the R1 has been done by several racers and magazines
trying to optimize the chassis for better handling. German mag Motorrad
Reisen & Sport (among some) tested different shocks and ride height
adjusters, and found the fastest lap times combined with best feedback
by raising the rear 11mm.

Personally, I've had
no ill effects by raising the rear. Stability is still good, over rough
spots, cranked over and at high(ish) speed straights. I've got more weight
at the front, which I personally like, but it demands early(er) use of
the gas in curves at high speed to avoid overloading the front tire. Earlier
this year, I had a couple of smaller frontend slides due to being late
at the gas, a result of charging in to the curve. My mistake in other words.

snip...>but the R1 demands
that you really mean it.>It will reward your
efforts and steer>plenty fast. like
anything, you get out of>it what you put into
it

That is true,
but again, the R1 with the chassis set at stock ride height is usually
suffering at tight tracks, while being among the quickest at tracks with
more high speed curves. In Sweden, there's a track called Knutstorp (http://www.t.kth.se/t94_lom/smr/tracks/ktorp.htm)
This is a tight track, tighter than it looks like at the pics on the website,
and here the R1's steering is slow no matter how much pressure you put
on the bars. More rear ride height make the R1 much easier to go fast with
at this track, with no ill effects what so ever.

>Now in your case,
you have a different>front end (fork length
and where they are>in the triple could
have changed your front>ride height)and probably
different tires,>so I wouldnt know
where your current set up>is. So it you set
your front ride height>higher (unintentionally)
and raised the>back at the same time,
you may have netted>out the changes with
the exception of a bit>more ground clearance.

>With respect to measurement.>The best way to measure
the>front ride height
is select a>point of reference
(I usually>use the bottom of
the steering>head) and measure
the height>with the forks extended,
to>the ground (perpendicular).>Measureing to the
axle may not>work for you as any
difference>in fork stroke between
stock>and Ohlins would make
that>length different,
and it is>not telling you how
the tire>factors into the equation.
For>example, a Metzler
slick is>taller than a Dunlop
slick>(for the same size)
by about>10mm, So changing
tires>effects height thought
the>forks were not moved.

I went to a dealer
and measured the length of the stock forks. Comparing the length to the
Ohlins, taking into account the difference in total fork travel (120mm
Ohlins, 135mm stock), the sag I used with the stock forks, and the sag
I have now, I had 2-3mm more front ride height with the Ohlins before I
raised them 1 more line (4mm).

After raising
the forks 4 more mm, I am now riding around 2mm lower at the front than
with the stock forks. However, the springs are stiffer, so in curves the
ride height is probably very close to what I had with the stock forks and
.90 Race-Tech springs.

The summary to all this
is that I'm running with about the same ride height at the front as stock,
but the rear is 11mm higher than with the stock shock. All these measurements
are valid with the Pilot Sports I had installed until last week.

snip...>I am assuming that
when you>say you raised your
forks, you>pulled them up in
the triples,

Yes, that's what
I mean.

Like I wrote in the
beginning of this post: I certainly agree to your arguments regarding changes
of ride height. Higher is not necessarily better. However, for the R1,
I do not believe the changes I've done make the bike significantly worse
in any area, so far, I have only positive experiences from the alterations.
Regarding altered swing arm angle; The long swingarm on the R1 is reducing
the ill effects raising the rear might lead to. The chains is not dragging
against it, and I haven't noticed an increase in squat due to the changes.

I will of course get
a better chance to evaluate all this when I get back to the tracks after
the winter. Until then, I do believe I've found a better setup than the
stock settings. The front is more planted, although (a bit more) sensitive
to correct throttle control in curves, steering is more responsive, and
stability hasn't suffered.Joerund

Rider Suspension
Comments 1Had mine out in the
track last week and the four clicks out I was using on the street worked
great on the track as well. so I guess we all agree, four clicks out.

2Get someone to push
down hard at the back of the seat pod while you are sitting on the bike,
and see if it compresses and rises at about the same rate. You'd be surprised
how often the factory settings are way off.

3Ohlins is in the position
that the rod is to the left and the knurled adjustment knob is to the right.
Do: 1) My damper bracket on the Ohlins is positioned to the left, only
37.60mm (1.48 inches) in from the left end of the damper.Do: 2) From the bottom
of the black triple clamp to the top of the BW fork bracket (inside measurement)
my distance is 104.68mm (4.12 inches).3) Looking down the
left fork-tube on the BW fork bracket from above: it is facing fairly close
to straight-forward. That is seen as the right side of the bracket looks
angled (like a backslash \) at about 30 degrees...this you need to play
with, carefully

4I had all the Race
Tech stuff installed in my first R1's forks by GMD Computrac. When they
got them right, they worked awesome. I also got a Penske shock. My bike
handled phenomenally. Mine was the first R1 that they had seen, and it
took a little trial and error. This was in '98, when the bike was first
released.

The Race Tech
Ultra Slick fluid, the suspected culprit, caused the fork seals to swell.
This created a good bit of stiction in the front.

5I'm installing Race
Tech .85 (stock is .80) front springs and want to increase the weight of
the fork oil slightly - 2 1/2 wt if I can. The R1 uses 'Suspension oil
"01"', which is 10 weight oil in the front forks.

6I had the bike computracked.
The front is down 8 mm, the rear is adjusted as high as we could set the
Ohlins shock and really should be 5mm more. I am running an Attack triple
clamp at 29 mm, stock is 35 mm. If you are running a stock triple clamp
be careful not to lower the front end more than 5 mm or the front end will
tend to tuck.

8I had a little problem
with the bike shaking a little on me at high speeds and decided to try
and readjust the suspension set up a little. I had it set for 30mm sag
in the rear. I softened it just a little and it took all of the shake out.
I was surprised at how just a little adjustment on the rear shock improved
high speed stability.

9Why did Santo specify
his Penske rear shock 1/4" longer than stock?:

I wanted the shock body
longer, to quicken the steering response. When tooling around, the steering
is OK, but at high speed, the R1 requires considerable effort to get it
to turn in quickly. Longer clip-on's will give you additional leverage
to help, and there are a number of different ways to actually quicken the
response, such as changing the steering head angle(super expensive), or
lowering the front end, by sliding the fork tubes up in the triple clamps,
but doing so creates problems with ground clearance. Using a longer rear
shock was in my opinion, the best way to achieve the desired results.

10What is what is nice
about Penske is their willingness to build a shock the way you want it.
They will also up grade your shocks for you if you buy one of their less
expensive ones and later decide you want to upgrade to the next level.

11How do you tell where
the standard (neutral) ride height setting is on the Ohlins (+0 -0). Is
it near the gap in the thread about 10mm or so from the start of the thread
? The manual that you get with the shock does NOT mention anything about
amounts of ride height adjustment. It just shows where the adjuster is
and thats all.

Answer 1: You
compare each of the shocks height when you got them in your hands.Answer 2: If you've
already installed it - when the end eye is threaded all the way in, it
is at -1mm.

2Never buy bearings
from Yamaha. All bearings are standard bearings, and 99.99 % are metric.
You should be able to get the #'s off of them, and then call your local
bearing supplier. If there are no #'s just take them down there and they
should be able to set you up.( In case anyone didn't already know ) Jeff
J.

3Running to the edge
of the tires wont scrape anything, I still get to the edge, despite the
cold weather. Without confidence in the tires, it can be scary for sure.
Get some Pilots, BT56SS, or Pirelli EVO, they are all predictable tires
with good grip and feedback. My personal favorite is the Pilot Sport though.
What you say about the Azaros is about the same that I've read in several
tire tests this year. Not a bad tire, but not as good as the best, far
from it.

Pressures136 front 40 back seems
high. i've been running 34/35, which suits me fine, even at "high speeds".
I figure I have a slightly bigger contact patch.

2For D207's: 30 psi
front and rear works well for either street or track. Higher pressures
made the bike slide more and was less stable at high speed. The negative
is slightly slower steering so I dropped the front end slightly. The front
end grip and feedback works great for me with this setup.

3On MEZ3s I used 35.5
front & back - on D207s I use 36 Front, 39 rear. This grips well for
me, but is a little unstable in a straight line.

Metzler1Impressed with the
amount of front end feedback, and the rear gave a lot more traction than
the stock 207. For aggressive riding the MEZ1's are better tires than stock
207's; feel and grip are twice as confidence inspiring turn-in is only
slightly slower. Would like to try the new MEZ3 racing compound as well.

2Metzeler MEZ4 Basically
the replacement of the Z2 but stickier and longer wearing; may not be quite
as sticky as the 207's (very close), but they are easier to read with more
feedback and more confidence inspiring. Metzelers line will cure 75% of
the bikes tendency to wobble.

3Metzeler MEZ3's120/70x17 $174.80180/55x17 $213.90190/50x17 $229.80

4The hot set up would
be an MEZ 3 on the front and an MEZ 4 rear.

5Metzelers Z3 (I like
Racing compound in the front and standard in the rear). They are almost
the same, but in the front the Z3 makes the difference due to its zero
degree steel belt and this is just what the R1 needs.

6The best application
I've run is the Z3 on the front and Z4 on the rear. The only better combination
for the street I've found is using the race compound MEZ3 on the front.
Front and rear will wear out close to the same mileage.

Dunlop1If you want to replace
the D207 with the same tire, make sure it is a D207 L. If not the bikes
handling will change for the worse. The D207 L is made for the R1.

2The standard 207ZR
would work fine on the R-1. I'm just going to take the standard 207 rather
than wait another month. Incidentally I've been using a slightly used 207GP
as a loaner and I don't notice a difference, except in traction of course.

3I used to have 207GP's
on my 7R and later on my 916. THE best tyre for the front, THE worst tyre
for the rear (bar Dragon corsas). Treaded tyres cannot handle 135bhp, seems
to be the general conclusion.

4The Dunlop D207GP front
is the best front and the Michelin Race 3 rear is the best rear.

5The tires that I like
most are the D207 GPs. The Metzeler MEZ1 Race compound pale in comparison.

7Dunlop's Steve Brubaker's
bottom line was this: take the pyrometer and bury it in the bottom drawer
of your tool box and leave it there. Go by how the bike handles and feels.
An example is endurance racing. Since a thicker tread generates more heat,
endurance tires will check *cooler* after running 3 hours than after they
first got up to temp. That's one reason tires go off when worn - no rubber
left to heat itself up to operating temperature. So if you went by temp
alone, what would you do? Drop the pressure to get the heat back? That'd
make the tires squirm and stand up in corners on the brakes or off the
gas.

Another example is Daytona,
where the extended high speeds require a thinner tread to avoid overheating,
and one place where higher pressures are necessary, to overcome the centripetal
forces imposed by the banking.

So if lowering
the pressures causes poorer turn in, instability and poor handling, what
are his recommend numbers? 32 front, 30 rear for the 207GP's again with
a +/- 2 lb window. Steve said that the pros might adjust pressure by *one*
PSI, and that's so subtle of an adjustment I doubt I could tell the difference.
And that's the point, you don't fix handling problems with air pressure
changes. They have the luxury of choosing the correct compound to suit
the ambient temperature and track in order to maximize traction. But geometry/suspension
setup is really how to lower lap times.

As far as warming
up, coming out of tire warmers, the fast guys are up to temp by the end
of the first lap, so it really depends on how fast and aggressive you are.
Personally, I'll be more cautious for a couple of laps at least.

They both said
that street compound tires have a much wider operating range that grips
at much lower temperatures. So track tires on the street are more likely
to slide since you don't run at the pace necessary to get them hot enough
to work. Conversely, the Pilot Sports will run well on the track, but go
off sooner because their ceiling is lower than the race tires. For street
tires pressures should be near the bike manufactures recommendations (36
for the R1). Too low and handling goes off. I felt comfortable with the
207 Sport Max's at 33 rear and 32 front, but that's a stiff tire in the
first place.

It all boils down
to this. There's no magic device or numbers that you can "set" the tires
to. You've just got to ride the bike and feel what it's doing, then adjust
the geometry/suspension and ride it again. How does it turn in, is it stable
when leaned over, does it squirm around too much on the straights, is it
sliding the front or back? And the first thing I'd adjust is my riding
style. You've got to capitalize on what the machine is capable of, not
force it to do something it can't.

Is your transition
from brakes to throttle so smooth going in that the front suspension barely
moves, thus maintaining max traction as cornering forces take over from
braking weight transfer? Or do you release the brake too early extending
the forks and unloading the tire, then turn in reloading the front? That
could be why you slid going in. And there are hundreds of control inputs
each lap that have to be done right, or at least consistently, before you
can evaluate your setup changes.

So after talking
to both reps I realize that, other than compound, tires are the last thing
I'm going to worry about at the track. Just look at them and see if they're
chewing up, if not, go faster!

Michelin1Michelin Race 2 and
Race 3 on our race bike with MUCH success (currently leading the WERA National
Endurance Series on an R1).

2I'm using the Michelin
Pilot Race tires. They are far more sticky than the Dunlop D207 street
compound, and last longer than the Dunlop D207 GP compound. True, you have
to run a 180 on the rear wheel. It has a more round profile. It falls into
corners quicker, and can be leaned over further than a 190. The front tire
is much more neutral steering than the triangle peak of the D207. They
do take a little longer to heat up than the D207 GPs. Try doing rolling
endos with stock rubber on cold pavement and you will end up crashing.

3Just a small comment;
According to Michelin, he Race wont stick better than the Sports, unless
the Sports are ridden outside their recommended temperature range. To get
the Sports too hot, you have to go to the track...

In other words,
there are few benefits, but a quite few liabilities connected to using
race tires on the street. This is especially true if the weather is a little
cold.

4Pilot Race tires are
definitely NOT recommended for riding in the rain. They have very poor
water wedge out characteristics. For the street, stick w/Pilot Sports

5If not on the track,
very few people will ever have any gains from the performance of the Pilot
Race. I don't know where you live, but if its not hot outside, the Race
will never get up to correct operating temperature, and they will give
less grip than the Sports (one of my friends crashed because of this).

The carcass of the Race
make them less suited for road use. On some road surfaces, they will provide
less grip than the Sport, no matter the temperature.

While grip is
extreme at right operating temperature (and surface, like at the track),
getting them up to heat can be a problem unless you ride really hard all
the time, and especially if the outdoor temp is less than 20-25 celsius.
And the Sports provide so much grip that if that is not enough for the
street, you really is fast (and crazy ;-)

That was my reason
behind writing the Race is a waste of money for street use. But besides
money, under several conditions, they perform worse than the Sports.

If none of these
points are valid for you, you probably will have gains from them even at
the street, but then you're not among the average fast rider, you're much
better and faster.Joerund

6The Pilot Race made
a HUGE difference in how the bike handles at the track. The stock Sport
Max tires exaggerate the R1's weaknesses. Now it's really neutral at speed
and responds to steering inputs like it lost 50 lbs. This is with a totally
stock suspension, so I can't wait for my hand to heal so the Ohlins (when
it arrives) and Race Tech parts can go on.

7I am sure most have
heard of the deal that Graves is offering. You get a Race2 rear and a Race
Front for 169/set + Shipping. I have had mine on for a week or so and can
really notice a difference.

8Michelins; Walt Schaefer
(256-538-5906) told me that there are Pilot Sports coming into the USA
today. You can go to http://www.bibmen.com/price.html
but the Sports aren't yet listed. Also the Pilot Race and Soft will have
an intermediate compound soon.

Recommended pressures
*for the track* are 30 front, 28 rear. Being radials, pressure and temperature
are not proportionally related, so forget the "10-15% pressure rise when
hot" reading. Just stay within +/- 2 lbs of the 30/28 numbers. You might
drop pressure in the rain, but only to get more rubber on the road.

The Race compound
will take 3-5 laps at 50 degrees F ambient (air) temp to get grippy, less
at higher air temps. So if it's cold or you can afford it, run the Softs.

Look for the Race
to work best between 100 -160 degrees Celsius. On a track that doesn't
work one side of the tire, it might only get to 80 C.

The Soft's range
starts at 60 - 70 C, and the tire starts to chew up at 140 - 150 C.

Make sure the
probe goes all the way into hit the carcass, then lift up a bit to get
a "core" reading, and do it as soon as you pit from a hot lap. Tires cool
off very quickly.

The reading will also
follow the ambient temp. So if it goes up 3 degrees outside in the afternoon,
your tires will also go up 3 degrees.

Measure at several
points across the tire's surface to get a good snapshot of where it's being
worked.

Don't change pressures
to change temp. Chassis and suspension settings will have more impact than
anything else. If you get the geometry right, then suspension adjustment
will dictate how well the tire stays in contact with the track. It'll run
cooler the less it bounces around and slides/regains traction. Change the
suspension and then take another temp reading. If it's cooler, then you're
moving in the right direction, assuming you're riding consistently and
achieving the same lap times. The faster you go, the hotter the tire will
get, sliding or not.

9In other tire tests
I've seen, none of the other brands/models could compete with the Pilot
Sport on wet grip.

10My experiences with
race (as in Pilot Race) vs. street (Pilot Sport) tires when used on the
street:

This summer, when
it was quite hot, I had no problems using race tires. I merely used them
occasionally though (while waiting for new street tires). They needed a
bit longer to warm up compared to the street version, but once hot, they
worked very well. Stability was not as good as the street counterpart,
even though the Pilot Race is much better than the D207GP in this area.
On poor asphalt, the Race worked less satisfying, feel was down compared
to the street tire.

Later in the season,
when temperature had dropped a bit, race tires was not the tires I would
want on my bike. A friend of mine crashed out of a curve using Pilot Race.
He'd been driving hard for almost an hour, but suddenly the rear let go,
and he lowsided. I didn't have any problems with my Sports the same day,
it was a little chilly, but I had plenty of grip and feel. My friend believed
the same about his Pilot Race, he pushed a little harder. Then they suddenly
let go. He just wasn't able to get them hot enough to grip properly, but
he thought he was....

Pirelli1Pirelli's MTR07(front)-
MTR08 (rear)Tread pattern is similar
to the normal Dragon's but stops about 2 cm from the edges. On the sidewalls
it says Dragon Corsa (molded in the rubber,
not a yellow Corsa sticker like the MTR01-02 Corsa).

3I'm running Pirelli's
MTR07(front)- MTR08 (rear) on my bike at the moment and they seem just
about perfect for my kind of riding: Street only, warmish weather, continuous
fast pace and high speed sweepers. Stable at ANY speed, grippy, and smooth.
My installer took a LOT of time balancing my wheels. It seems to make a
LOT of difference in how smoothly the bike runs and tracks. Pay your guy
(or yourself) something extra to get it exactly right. You'll be a little
surprised at what you've been living with and more than a little pleased
you did it.

Tires General1newsgroup alt.motorcycle.sportbike
See "An Expert's View - Street Compound vs Race Compound" posted by Erik
Astrup, December 24 1999 and "More expert tire information!!" also posted
by Erik Astrup, December 29 1999[There
should be some way to hotlink a browser to a newsgroup, but I don't know
what it is - Mike.]

A question for
you tire experts out there:

Has anyone found a tire
that offered super sticky traction while leaned over and hard on the gas
combined with good stability during 150 mph WFO straight-line runs?

Personally, I cannot
find a tire that offers both. The stock D207ZR's were super stable at straight-line
high speeds but tended to let go while leaned over and hard on the gas.
207GP's stick like freakin' glue 100% of the time but unless they are brand
new, I get bad front end shake at 140-150mph while WFO. Michelin Race tires
were super stabile at high speed but were dangerous on the street because
they would never warm up to proper operating temps and would slide like
crazy.

How about it guys? Has
anyone found a tire that sticks as well as a 207GP but is as stabile as
a 207ZR at WFO high speeds? I fear there is no such thing. I've been sticking
with the 207GP's lately as an insurance policy against sliding and high-sides
but got really pissed off last weekend when I had to keep letting out at
140 during WFO straight-line blasts because the front end was shaking too
hard(the Ohlins didn't help). Greg Crowe

You may not need a better
tire, there are other factors that make the R1 unstable at speed. These
are frame geometry and frame strengh. Lets look it what you already found
out, the Michelins are more stable at speed than the 207 race tires, I
believe this is because the front tire (Michelin) is taller and the rear
tire is shorter. This gives the bike increased stability and requires more
effort or input to turn the bike. What you have done is increased trail.
Yamaha built the R1 with very little trail, on the street this makes a
very quick turning bike, at speed it is an unstable bike prone to wobble.
(Hence most R1 owners install a steering damper)Your cure is to increase
the trail. This can be done a number of ways. the two most common are to
replace the triple trees with ones with less offset, this increases trail,
the second is to install a bearing insert in the steering head to increase
rake and trail, or both. If this makes sense to you and you want to know
more let me know and I will rant and rave some more. Dan Kyle

Dan is entirely right
in what he says. There is also another factor. Race tyres are thinner and
softer, more flexible, to get a better contact patch and more grip. That
means they get more distortion in the carcass as a result of the same input
forces. That means they have less stability. Road tyres are built to enhance
stability. Road tyres have thicker tread and carcasses so they're stiffer.
Having more rubber, they generate more heat and can go off more easily.
They are also (and boy has this changed since I started riding!) frequently
an even softer compound than many race tyres so they can get some heat
into them quickly on a cold day. That softer compound is treated with additives
to (a) improve wear and (b) grip well up to a point and then let go progressively.
Many race tyres are made to hang on like shit to a blanket and when they
finally do let go, they really let go. Last but not least, as road tyres
are thicker, they're heavier - by quite a margin. That means they have
stronger gyroscopic forces. That can be enough to counter a tendency to
go the shopping trolley, allowing a bike that's a bit borderline to run
straight.

I think Greg's right.
It's all a lucky-dip of compromises. You can't have your cake and eat it
too. The best you can do is be well informed and make a decision that reflects
what you actually need in a tyre. There are a lot of people riding on D207R-GPs
that would have a much better experience with the plain old D207. Miket

I thought it was the
other way around. There's just been a discussion at the alt.motorcycle.sportbikes
ng, with information passed on from Dunlop. Interesting information. Furthermore,
Michelin claims that their race tyres have much stiffer carcasses than
their road going tires, to cope with the heavy side load from track use.
This, and the way the carcass is built, is the reason for the less stability
of the race tires...

Mike
note: You may wish to respond to the above. . .

ummmmm, I'd hesitate
to argue with Dunlop and Michelin, those guys probably know something about
tyres. The way I understand it, road tyres are made with a fairly stiff
base or tread area, and fairly soft sidewalls. Race tyres are made with
a fairly soft base and very stiff sidewalls. My comments were a generalization
- if you delve into the specifics, all bets are off. There are differences
in the design and construction techniques between road and race tyres.
Exactly
what those differences are and what that implies in use is a good subject
for a Masters Thesis - it's beyond anything I'd try to put on the forum
and way over my head.

I can't see how a stiffer
carcass - alone - would diminish stability. The only correlation I can
see there is that a stiffer carcass may result in a smaller contact patch
at the same pressure, leading to less resistance to changes in direction,
and that's a pretty tenuous relationship. I think the difference is in
the way the carcass is designed and built - such that the race tyre is
less stable DESPITE the fact that it has a stiffer carcass. That's just
my opinion. There's also the possibility that the exact physical characteristics
and properties I'm thinking of when I say "stiffer" are a little different
the ones the tyre makers have in mind. I don't know. Miket.

Punctures, Patches1The best (safest) repair
to a tire, especially one you're betting a life on, would be the patch/plug
combo. May be refered to as a mushroom plug, as its' profile sort of resembles
a mushroom. This is a plug that has to be inserted from the inside of the
tire, and pulled through from the outside. You have to dismount the tire
for this, because the head of the plug is actually a patch. You need to
do the proper surface prep for the patch so it will stick. What you end
up with is a plug that cannot be pulled out of the tire, or spit out under
high centrifical force (high speeds). Plus, it should never leak, even
if you wear the tire down to the cord. The potential problem with just
plugging a motorcycle tire is that the carcass is not very thick, and as
the tread wears down you don't have much cross section material to stabilize
the plug. Also, a motorcycle tire flexes its' carcass more than a car tire
does, and this may contribute to a simple plug loosing its' adhesion to
the tire.

2Best place to buy tires:
A the race track. Talk to one of the teams/team members. Best prices and
they normally include mounting and balancing.

3Parts Depot 1-800-245-3101

Wheels1Marchisini magnesium
wheels. The difference in quality of the casting is clear, front wheel
seemed 3 lbs. lighter than stock; rear wheel was more like 5 lbs. lighter

2Marchesini wheels are
available form TAW Vehicle concepts in Colorado, $1600-$1700 dep. on racer/non-racer
price. They quote $140 for the cush drive etc. Most common colors are gold
or white, but these rims are light and better made than Marvics.

7D. Thompson & Son
located in Lithonia GA, 770-484-6360.A recommended chroming
shop. Experienced with motorcycles and gives a 2 year warranty.

Alignment1I talked to the guys
at GMD Computrack.They recommend using
a string to sight down the wheels. The only thing that matters is that
the front wheel is straight with the back. To do this, remove everything
that will get in the way - lower fairings, exhausts etc.Wrap a string around
the back of the lower [part of the rear] wheel and pull it tight to the
front of the bike. Use something heavy to hold the string tight and off
the ground. I used old motorcycle batteries.The string should be straight
from the back edge of the back tyre to just touching the front edge of
the back tyre, and passing the front tyre without bending. Next, measure
the distance between the front and back sidewalls of the front tyre on
both sides of the front tyre. They should be equal. If they're not, adjust
the back tyre side by side until they are right. Make sure the axle nut
is not too loose. When you are done, you don't want the axle to move when
you retighten it. This method took me forever to do, but they work with
factory factory Yamahas and Hondas so it must work. I've seen the Rohms
and others but it's the same thing - a string is just cheaper than a pair
of 8 foot straight edges. Also easier to take to the track.

I have seen in a British
magazine, an ad for a system that uses lasers to sight down the wheels.
Whatever - just remember, you don't need to do it every time you change
your tyre, but you will need to do it every time you change your gearing.[I
would dispute that. It should be checked every time you loosen the axle
nut. If you're lazy like me, you might do it every second or third time,
just count the flats on the adjustment bolts for the others, but it really
should be done every time. - Mike]

For rear wheel
alignment:1rohm alignment tool
works best for me.it aligns axle with swing arm pivot. 2Get down behind the
bike, and sight down the top of the chain, just like you would if aiming
a rifle. If it is not properly aligned, you will easily be able to see
an angle or bend in the chain.

3I just went to the
local hardware store and picked up a 1/8" x 1" x 6' piece of aluminum flat.
Put the bike on swingarm stand, put the alum against both edges of the
rear tire. See if the clearance on both sides of the front are the same.
(with the front straight of course) Real easy to tell, without a tape even.
Found out on my 900rr that by going by the marks. When laid out like this
there was a 1" difference, with the rear tire pointing left.

4Unless the rear axle
is in line with the front axle, and the swing arm pivot, it is not in line.
There are many alignments to be considered that effect the handling of
your bike, not just the rear axle with the chain and swing arm pivot. Front
and rear and in between must align harmoniously. BTW the marks and or the
axle adjust points are not ever a for sure alignment even with calipers
however most of the time they are close enough for govt. work.

Formum Members
Comments on Tires1Tires:

Another good option is
the Pirelli EVO, or EVO Corsa, which have good grip, although not as good
as the Pilot Sport, but offer excellent stability and turn in characteristics.
They suck in the wet compared to the Michelins though.

BT56SS: I've never tried
them, but they are supposed to work very well on the R1.

On the street, I feel perfectly
confident with the Pilot Sport, but for trackdays next year, I'll get a
set of the Pilot Races.

There are two kinds of
Pilots the "Race"and the "Race Soft", get the "Race". From what I have
read and been told from the people that have used both the "Race Soft"
is more like qualifying tire and will not last.

The Bridgestone BT57 or
BT56 are more than adequate in supplying grip and mileage for the street.

I now use a Dragon Corsa
front (old tyre from the CBR600) and a BT56 rear on my 9 and I'm very happy
about it.

Pilot Race are perfectly
stable. Yep, not necessary for the street, but I want all the grip available
for the track. Makes me feel better at my limits, and provides a cushion
to my learning curve. The Pilot Sports will go on for the street.

2

Michelin TX 15/25: Not
very good grip, good handling, not very good high speed stability, not
confidence inspiring, mileage 2.000 miles: forget them.

New Michelin Pilots: They
replace the TX 15/25 Race, so they are made for track use mainly. The rear
tire will be shredded in about 1.000 miles: forget them.

Dunlop D207: Good grip
(better than Michelin) and handling but not very good stability at high
speeds, mileage: 2.500 miles: a good choice for twisty roads, not a good
choice for high speed riding or in bumpy roads.

Metzeler Z3: Good grip
(same as Dunlop), not very good handling, very good stability, mileage
2.000 miles: a good choice for high speed riding or in bumpy roads.

My personal choice: the
new Pirelli Dragon Evo. Available across Europe in April. They will combine
the best features of the Michelin & Dunlop handling with the Metzeler
stability, so I guess they will be the best choice for road use.

3Try the Dunlop D207GP
instead of the D207 ZR. These tires are for racing and have the best grip
that I have experienced. They are also very stable in turns and predictable
when they slide. They steer very presicely, and give a lot of confidence
in the twisties. They are a tad less "stable" in top speed, but I have
never experienced any trouble.

Brakes1Lots of recommendations
for Harris brake lines for the R1.

2Motor Accessory Warehouse
has a great price on the Goodridge brake lines.

5Thumb operated rear-brake:
cost is about $1000 Canadian for the brake lever/master cylinder only.
You need an additional caliper for the rear brake, as well as a new caliper
hanger to hold BOTH rear calipers that you will now be running; you cannot
run with two master cylinders actuating the same caliper.tel# is:JAYS RACING@
(01543) 277998 (in Canada)

6All the local racers
here use Dunlopads or EBC HH Sintered pads. I have tried both pads on my
R1s, both for street riding and the track, I can honestly say these pads
are awesome. Either one would be an excellent choice.

I think the EBC
pads are maybe a little more progressive than the Dunlopads, but the Dunlopads
require less effort to slow down. In a racing publication they did a comparison
of all the different brake pads on a dyno. They measured torque produced
by the pads at a constant amount of effort. The EBC Sintered Street and
EBC Sintered Race came out best.

I, however, am
now using Dunlopads. In my opinion, they are better than the EBCs in stopping
friction.

7To clean brake discs,
use steel wool (very fine grade) or a scotchbrite pad. DO NOT use WD-40.
The only thing you should ever be spraying on your discs is brake disc
cleaner.[For
god sake don't get chain lube anywhere near a disk. You can also use emery
paper or cloth - sandpaper - just about anything that's not oil based or
lubricating. Acetone (nail polish remover) can be used to wash lubricants
off a disk. Some other kinds of solvents as well, but not all solvents.
- Mike]

8You can't go wrong
with either Motul or AP Racing brake fluid. The Motul is really good, because
they go to the trouble to pack the container with nitrogen, ensuring that
no condensation will contaminate the fluid before the container is opened.
Braided steel lines will make a definite improvement in the feel.

9I recommend either
Goodrich for ready made lines, or custom made for your application utilizing
Earls components.

10The best brake setup
that we have tried so far is Dunlopad race pads with Fastline hoses (up
front) it borders on dangerous until you get used to it. I like Fastline
hoses because they fit in the original holders perfectly. Six piston YZF750
calipers will bolt on directly but require slightly longer hoses. I have
not tried the YZF calipers on the road but I did bolt them on.Ivan

14The prices for LP Goodridge
lines (#408-2173) are $117.95. Those are Kevlar fronts. As Dave J pointed
out, the -2's do NOT come in Kevlar, by Goodridge. Now, part #408-3850
are for the -2 SS lines, and LP quotes them at $194.95 for the front, and
(#408-3850R) $94.95 for the rears. The salesperson didn't say that I couldn't
get the kevlar -2's, so that's what I thought I was quoted.

15Just got the EBC HH
pads and had my brakes bled yesterday. AMazing difference, even with the
stock lines. Could have been the bleeding. "-2" Goodrich steel braided
lines have a smaller internal diameter and provide an excellent, firm feel.

16Don't use DOT 5 in
your bike's lines - maybe nice for autos, not so for bikes.

17I use M600. You will
have no problems, but you will be doing yourself a favor to bleed the brakes
until the old fluid is gone. This alone helped the quality of my brakes
feel a great deal better.

18I put in the EBC HH
sintered (sp?) pads and the brakes are MUCH better now!

19I`m using CARBONNE
LORAINNE new SBK-3 pads front and rear since last week...rear is too powerfull
now, but I can accomodate; front is different from before; initial bite
is not as strong as the stockers, but once heated up, bite is much stronger
and predictable. Overall, I think they are great pads,and that I can modulate
my brakes better in a safer way.

I had been debating
for a while about having the rear master cylinder stripped & powdercoated,
and I am glad that I decided to do it. When I disassembled the rear master
cylinder, I found sediment in the cylinder bore, and on the backside of
the piston. This, with only 598 miles on the bike. It makes me wonder how
many others have this condition, also. I would hope that many of you give
some serious thought to doing a brake system overhaul this winter. The
rebuild kits for the Front & rear master cylinder are not expensive,
and you can rest easy in the knowledge that your brakes are "Up to snuff".

For your own sake, give
it some thought.Santo Jannotti

21Speedbleeders: I'll
never be without them again. They work great. If you have a dry system,
you will need a Mighty Vac to get things going, but after that it is a
breeze. Don't forget to get a bleeder bolt for your master cylinder. I
paid $15.00 for mine from Galfer. Also, don't forget the hidden bleeder
in the rear. You'll need 4 altogether.

22After the Mity Vac
and usual bleeding, unbolt the calipers and let them hang down overnight.
Tie a piece of string on them to take the weight off the lines. Zip tie
the lever to the bar also. Then bolt them up and bleed one more time. This
procedure made for a very firm lever feel.

23Don't forget to put
something between the pads when you clamp the brake handle, so you don't
have to pry the pucks apart.

24Brake Fluid: Use DOT
5.1. DOT 5.1 is NOT an improved 5.0 but a improved 4.0. DOT 5.0 can cause
swelling of rubbers and because it doesn't absorb water, the water forms
droplets in the brake fluid. When heated up the droplets turn into gas,
taking up the brake pressure. DOT 5.1 does eat paint and is hydroscopic.
DOT 5.1 has a higher boiling point.

John

25After warping/chewing
some rotors, they came up with 2 new HH compounds that are supposedly much
less likely to damage rotors (for a total of 3 compounds at one time).
Now There's the standard HH and the "Kit" HH's. Either is supposed to be
fine for OEM stainless rotors, but the "Kit" is not recommended for cast
iron and other softer rotors. Just to be safe, I'm gonna buy the "standard"
HH's, not the "Kit" HH's.

26I just installed some
SS -2, what a difference they made, nice tight feel. The reaction from
lever or pedal movement is superb. I tried the Mityvac II ($23.00 @ Autozone)
It didn't work that good, It may be good for the initial bleeding but not
for removing all of the air in the system. The "one man bleeder kit" ($5.00)
worked just fine. Definitely go with the SS lines and fittings you cant
loose.

3The old (bad) sprocket
carrier is part #4XV253600 whereas the replacement (good) is 4XV25360 R1.
Also if you take yours out the bad ones have TUSHIMA YES stamped on them
but the replacement ones don't.

4White Lightning Chain
LubeI clean my chain with
WD-40 really good, as previously mentioned, then I go ride the bike until
it is physically warm to the touch (not just around the block). Then I
spray a thick coating of chainwax on it and let it dry for a half hour.
For me, this lasts between oil changes (3-4k miles). My last chain had
21k miles on it when I traded in the bike and no signs of needing a new
one.

The JT cush drive is
not non-flexible, you still use the stock rubber pieces with it. Just the
drive dogs are solid instead of hollow. The operation is the same as the
stock piece. 4XV-25366-00-00 - The original 98 cush drive - Yamaha part
number 4XV-25360-R1-00 Is the replacement "kit" that has the updated cush
drive, studs, nuts, and rear wheel bearing already installed. 4XV-25366-10-00
- The new updated or '99 cush drive itself without the other stuff.

There is only
1 difference between the original '98 cush drive and the updated version.
There are 6 "ears" that stick out of the cush drive hub itself that go
between the rubber pieces in the rear wheel. Those "ears" are completely
hollow on the original version. The updated version has about 1/2 the ears
volume filled in with metal.

11Performance Machines
makes a cush drive for their spun wheels to save your tranmission and sprocket
bolts. $295http://www.performance-machine.comYamaha part number
4XV-25360-R1-00 Is the replacement "kit" that has the updated cush drive,
studs, nuts, and rear wheel bearing already installed.

12I use a DID ERV2 chain.
I have used Regina also very good. I would stretch everthing else in a
few races.

13Just a quick word of
advice. Do not use a clip style master link. Make sure you use the rivet
type!

14Renthal sprockets have
the best wear life of any I have ever seen.

15

Renthal sprockets

For Renthal Front Sprocket (Stock 16 tooth)

For Renthal Rear Sprocket (Stock 43 tooth

Made out of Nickel-Chrome-Mloybdenum steel, case
hardened.

Hard anodised 7075 aluminium alloy.

Part # 309U-530-16P

Part # 210U-530-43P-HA

Modification
Suggestions

Forum members
suggested modification priorities

1Go for a damper first,
steel brake lines second, and a penske or ohlins shock third. brake or
hp upgrades aren't necessary on the r1 to me (yet).

Racing Modifications1

Semoff Bros. Racing:1998
WERA National Endurance Champions (1st overall and 1st heavyweight) Replaced
stock bodywork with aftermarket parts from 'Sharkskinz'. This included
all bodywork and the front fender.

D&D slip on.
The performance of the bike in stock trim is very good. The slip
on saves some weight and allows the bike to breathe a little bit easier.

Factory jet kit. We
retained the stock springs and backed the air mixture screws out 1.5 turns
from bottom.

Toby steering damper was
installed to settle those high speed wobbles and tank slappers.

Michelin TX-15 (front)
and TX-25 (rear) race tires.

Replaced the stock shock
with an Ohlins.

Replaced the stock windscreen
with a Zero Gravity windscreen.

Replaced the stock side
case covers with APE case covers.

Installed clip-ons from
Graves Motorsports.

EBC Double H Sintered brake
pads. They work great and last a long time.

Fabricated some parts.
Among them, a lightweight front fairing mount, a lightweight exhaust bracket,
and a case guard to protect the clutch cover and puller

2"Trade Secrets" from
Cycle Improvements, Waterloo, Ontario

When replacing brake pads
the proper procedure should be followed. After removing the caliper, but
before removing the pads pump the brake lever or pedal to push the caliper
pistons out further that they were. Then take some scotchbrite and contact
cleaner and clean the pistons of all road grime and corrosion. This will
ensure that when you push the caliper pistons back, the corrosion won't
be pushed back in the caliper bore possibly causing the caliper pistons
to stick or the seals to prematurely fail.

It is important to check
your tire pressure on a regular basis. If you are not sure what pressure
to set them at you can do the following. Start with the tire pressure recommended
in your owners manual when they are completely cold and then recheck after
driving at your normal pace. After about 25 to 30 kilometers you should
see approximately a 10% rise in pressure. If you see more of an increase
raise the pressure by 2 to 3 psi and re check. This will cause the tire
carcass to flex less creating less heat. If you see less of an increase
then 10%, lower the pressure by 2 to 3 psi and recheck.

The key to a long chain
life is maintenance. Keeping your chain adjusted to the proper tension
is essential and will not only lengthen the life of your chain, but also
make riding safer and more enjoyable. The best way to check your chain
tension is to compress the rear suspension so that the front sprocket,
swingarm pivot, and rear axle are all in line. This is the point where
your chain is at its tightest. Adjust to 3/8" travel each way making sure
that you check it in a few different spots as many chains wear unevenly.

The first step is to support
the rear wheel in air, then break the chain. Use half of the master link
and attach the new chain temporarily, then pull the old chain around the
front sprocket. This will pull the new chain through and eliminate the
need to pull the countershaft sprocket cover off. When installing the master
link make sure that the closed end points in the direction of travel. Clean
the slide plate and clip with contact cleaner, then smear a light film
of high strength adhesive such as automotive goop over it. This will make
your clip type master link as good as the original rivet type.

General
Performance1I changed the rear
sprocket for a bigger one ( 2 teeth more, aluminium from Afam) and would
recommend that move to everyone, it make the bike rock even more without
losing any top speed!

Carburation/Needles/Etc.1Shimming the needles
will give the most benefit in the midrange, with somewhat diminishing returns
higher up in the powerband. What happens is, the end of the needle is tapered,
so by shimming it up slightly, the fuel is allowed to start coming out
of the needle jet "sooner" for a given throttle position.

2Print you an " all
gear " run? That should tell you if your jetting is correct. The runs should
match up if jetting is correct. If the all gear is higher that the roll
on, you are too rich, and vice-versa. Also look at the shape of the all
gear runs, they should be flat at the top. If they are not which way do
they lean? More power at the beginning of each gear would indicate that
your too rich in the mid, because your slides open faster than the fuel
can be sucked through the emulsion tubes and there by supply fuel. Vice-versa
is also true in this case.

3I like changing the
main jets MUCH better than shimming the needles. As someone said, shimming
the needles doesn't give a linear change throughout the rpm range. I don't
know what a set of Mikuni 132.5 main jets would do with the slip-on but
I'd bet they would be as good or better than the shims I used with the
stock needles.

Clutch, Transmission1Aluminum clutch plates
offer a weight savings of one pound off the rotating weight of your engine,
compared to steel plates. Cryogenically treated to be stronger than the
stock items.Street & Competition1175 Hoosick roadTroy, NY 12180(800) 236-5487price is $100.00

2Cryogenically treated
clutch plates. They are about 1 lb. lighter than the stock steels. You
can order them from Street N Competition. 800-326-5487.The cryoplates are
lighter and stronger than the stock steel plates, and they DO make a noticeable
difference in the acceleration. They retail for about $108.00 a set, and
I would recommend them to anyone who is in the market for clutch components.

3I think they work better
than steel, aluminum dissipitates heat easier than steel. The cryogenic
treatment also makes them structurally stronger than steel, also.

4They are manufactured
by more than one company, mine were originally manufactured by Cryolabs.
I got them through Street N Competition. 1-800-326-5487.

5If your clutch hub
or basket or both have notched wear, the clutch plates won't separate quickly
enough and cause rough shifting. I just replaced my clutch; new frictions,
metals, and hub because it was beginning to have notches where the metal
plates contact it. The bike shifts noticeably better than before.

6DO NOT use any other
metal clutch drive plates other than stock Yamaha, they WILL notch your
clutch hub. Its not the basket, its the HUB, the part that the metal plates
engage/slide on, the part lists for less than $100, the engagement teeth
on [some aftermarket clutches with names we won't
mention - Mike.] whose metal plates are not as wide as OEM metal
plates which allows them to rock back and forth more, thus causing them
to dig into the clutch hub much sooner than the OEM metal plates would,
this would cause more noise and "notchy" shifting. Ivan

7My bike is pretty rough
going into second also. I think this winter, I'll pull it apart and shim
up the gaps. This is a common problem with production bikes and production
tollerences. This why some do it and some are ok. I've been using Mobil
1 10-40 motorcycle oil, but I'm switching to the 20-50. I think this will
help keep the shafts rotating at more similar speeds and cushion the dogs
a little more.

8Fast by Gast is one
of the top three places in the country to get your gears undercut.

9Sorry if this creates
any confusion here but there is a bit of a problem in the theory side of
this clutch operation. Whilst the clutch is operated this conical spring
in the damper unit forces the steel plate away from the fiber plate and
releases any drive effort from it. In effect when this occurs drive is
nonexistent through the unit. At this time when the clutch lever is operated
the steel plate is now against the piano wire circlip. When you release
the clutch, it is not until the clutch spring pressure overrides the conical
spring pressure in the damper unit that actual clutch engagement occurs.
In effect, this means that the unit is NOT in contact all the time, it
is only in contact when the clutch lever is released. To add to this, the
damper pack is actually the final decider as to when complete lockup of
the clutch unit occurs. As in until described clutch spring overrides conical
spring pressure they are acting against each other. Hope this clears things
a bit, have seen from the posts that some people are thinking this is creating
problems that it is not due to the theory here being misunderstood. I stress
if this circlip is fitted correctly it cannot come out. I have even tried
to pull it out with pliers and unless you bend the ends as in force it
to the point of damage it cannot be pulled out. Can supply a diagram if
it would help. But stress it must be fitted correctly.

To sum up in layman's
terms this damper pack is not working until clutch is released and decides
the final point of clutch engagement.

A note to add there
is no CONSTANT Drag. When clutch is released then damper unitcomes into
play, when clutch is applied you could take special friction plate, conical
spring and spring seat out and throw them away and no difference would
be found. But when you released clutch first steel plate of clutch pack
would only release as far as the piano wire circlip and would not allow
pressure to be applied to friction plates against face of clutch boss.
This would result in no drive. Stress again, this unit will not create
constant drag in neutral or clutch in position nor increase clutch wear
or engine heat. Will also have no effect on finding neutral. I cannot stress
enough that the only time this unit comes into effect is at the final stages
of clutch lockup point, at any other time this unit is in effect free wheeling.

Remove enough plastic
to expose the full clutch cover. At the clutch hand lever wind the adjuster
right in and remove the cable (to give enough slack.) Remove the cable
from the lever at the bottom of the clutch cover - make a mental note of
the rough angle of the lever to the case for later. Remove the 8 bolts
holding the clutch cover on (maybe an idea to slightly slacken them ion
opposite sides at bit at a time to stop warping) (no need to drain if the
bike has been stood on its side stand for an hour or two.) Pull the cover
off - this will probably need the lever wriggling a bit. Remove the bolts
holding the clutch spring (like to the cover, slacken them off a bit first.)
Remove the spring followed by the metal plates and friction plates. Lay
them in order so that you can put them back in the same order and with
the same sides touching. When you get near the back, with one or two plates
left, you will (hopefully) not be able to get them out because of the piano
wire around the inner hub holding them in place. Gently prize the ends
out and remove the wire. Reassemble as above. Theory says you should replace
the gasket for the cover. The fiddly bit is engaging the screw gear in
the cover with the 'hole' in the clutch. This takes a little patience.
Check the lever ends up in the same place as before (you did make a mental
note?) If not, you are one or two teeth out and will have to pull the cover
and tweak it. Torque for clutch spring bolts is 5.8 foot-pounds. Torque
for the cover bolts is 8.7 foot-pounds. (Tighten a bit at a time in diagonals.)

10For a different view
from the above, and a recommended method of eliminating the piano wire
circlip altogether (a number of engines have apparently "grenaded" because
of it, see below:

ahttp://www.firststreetinternet.com/~santoj/index.htmSanto's site with very
detailed clutch modification information.bThe only thing I can
add (to Santo's clutch fix explanation above) is to remove the plastic
oil filler cap at the top of the clutch housing when re-installing.cUse a flash light to
look into that hole to align the push rod with the hole in the housing...
makes the job much easier.dAnother clutch housing
reinstallation trick is to put some grease on the back side of the pushrod
to help hold it in place as you slide the housing back on. Otherwise, it
topples and flops around and is hard to line up. You'll know you have it
right if the marks on the housing and on the clutch lever arm line up once
the housing is fully in place.

11Clutch replacement:
Your existing steels should be checked with a feeler gauge, on a plate
of glass for flatness, and replaced if not perfectly flat, or if they exhibit
ANY blue or black discoloration. As for soaking, the steel plates do not
need to be pre-soaked in oil, but if you are smart, you will soak new fiber
plates in clean, fresh oil for at least an hour. You can do the plate removal
with the clutch basket still in the bike.SantoJ

12Dont forget to buy
a new clutch gasket...

Radiator, Cooling1To Remove the thermostat
or not?[That
is the questionWhether
'tis nobler of mineto
suffer the slings and arrowsof
outrageous transmission design,or
to take up pliers against a piece of piano wireand
by removing, end them.Oops
- cooling system. Sorry - Mike

Well suffice it to say
that racebikes their respective requirements are very different from our
reality. Try not to be to terribly influenced by what they do for this
topic anyway.

Racebikes operate under
the assumption that there engines are always at redline or on their way
their so they rely on a certain amount of stasis. The works radiators are
designed to cope with the amount of heat the engine will produce at race
pace, which is mostly constant, in addition to certain ambient temperature
expectations. They modulate temperature by taping off sections of their
radiators to keep temp up when they race in very cool conditions or rain
(water is a better medium for conduction than air). For example, if you
saw the WSB race at the A1 ring where Chili was in the lead, toward the
end of the race, the tape on his radiator worked loose and you could see
it flapping out the sides of his Suzuki.

In our case, our cooling
system has to operate over a range of ambient conditions and engine speeds,
not a steady state. So temp has to be partially regulated thru a thermostat.

I agree with Santo about
the idea of clearances as well, and that it is not good for the motor to
run to cool. Keep in mind also that oil viscosity and jetting are temperature
dependant as well.

With regard to thermostats
and what they do, they are not just full open or closed. This is a simple
matter of physics. The spring (actually a combination of particular metal
on a shaft that is springloaded, but I'm gonna use spring because its easier)
expands and contracts with temperature so it runs through a "range" after
hits the minimum temperature to effect change. So in that respect, it is
not like a circuit that is either open or closed, but its range is very
small. There is a plate that moves of the base that lets water flow thru.
As such, the size of the opening will change and effect flow in conjunction
with impeller speed at the waterpump.

Initially it is heated
from one side (engine side)on startup. This allow coolant to get hotter
than standard operating temp until it get the spring to its set temp to
lift off(explaing why opening temp is hotter than what you see during normal
operation). It lifts to full open and then lets cooler water from the radiator
flow to the engine. It generally will then close down a bit provide minor
modulation based on temperature after that. What we see on our guages is
a function of where the temp sending unit is, so it may not tell you exactly
what you want to know depending on the system design.Harpee

3Most just "sense",
in one way or another, that you have started to move the shift lever (with
your foot) to upshift to the next gear. As you progress though the upshift
(w/o the clutch), the ignition is halted very briefly to reduce the load
on the tranny, and you are able to complete the shift w/o the clutch. Spend
a little more money, and you can have one that moves the shift lever for
you (via push button or whatever) - IMHO, a waste of extra $$ for the street.
I rode an R1 with a power shifter - was on a nasty bumpy road - just bang-bang-bang
through the gears, kinda like you're shifting an automatic tranny like
it was a manual one (if that makes sense). I felt more in control on the
rough road - I dunno, less to have to concentrate on - just pin the throttle
and move your shift foot.

4A typical 'air shifter'
like the one marketed by MRE, consists of a small, cylindrical tank to
hold air (at 125 psi), a mechanical pushbutton switch to mount on the handlebars,
a mechanical "foot" to do the actual shifting, and an air actuated solenoid
to clip the coils.

When the rider presses
the handlebar button, line pressure air travels to the solenoid, causing
it to open a port, which allows the air to travel to the mechanical "foot".
The foot is a bracket mounted cylinder with a shaft coming out of it, with
a clevis on the shaft end. This is mounted to the shift lever, and the
other end is mounted to the frame mounting bracket, which allows the foot
to move / pivot in a similar way to a steering damper. At the same time
that the solenoid sends air to the foot, it also has a pressure activated
electrical switch mounted to it, whose purpose is to interrupt the electricity
going to the coils. This has the effect of unloading the transmission,
which can then be shifted into the next gear quickly and easily. This type
of setup allows you to do full-throttle up-shifts simply by pushing a button.
The downside is in the fabrication of the requisite brackets, and like
nitrous, the air supply will be less each time you shift unless you spring
for an onboard air compressor. Or you could use one of the newer nitrogen
shifter that operate at 950 psi, and will give 1,500 or so shifts before
the bottle needs to be refilled.

5To convert an air over
electric shifter to an automatic shifter all you have to do is buy a multi
use rev limiter. Dyna has one. It has an output called "Shift minder" that
will send an electrical signal to the solenoid and the coils, shifting
the transmission when the RPM reaches the selected limit. So (for the non-technically
inclined guys here) when the shift light comes on, it shifts.

6The R1 that I rode
just shifted like butter with the Dale Walker Holeshot Powershifter - like
maually running an automatic tranny through the gears as if it were a manual
transmission. made it much easier to focus ahead. Generally the guy just
uses it for upshifting at WOT.

8patw@rivayamaha.comCheck with Pat via
e-mail for info on a shifter made by John France that he recommends.

Anti-Theft1For a good bike theft
warning system: Buy a baby monitor and put it in your trunk.RadioShack, Walmart,
K-Mart

Lighting, Signal
Flasher mods1nobody has answered
his question - here, go and get a hopkins taillight converter, start clipping,
soldering and heat shrinking. took me about 30 mins and they work great.
And I am horrible with wiring. picture shows a different converter type
(I used the hopkins , $19 cdn), same installation pretty much. Or here
is what I did, I followed this fellows instructions "Tridon (brand name)
EL12-C Heavy Duty Flasher

2http://www.braincell.com/bob/my_r1/mig_pipe/Here's a link to Bob
Larson's web page where he spells out the tail light conversion and gives
some schematics and part numbers. It helped me when I did my conversion.
It really is very simple and doesn't require much time at all. If you don't
use a different flasher, the turn signal will flash double time when the
brake light is on simultaneously. It didn't cause any other problems and
I replaced it simply because it annoyed me.

3The actual part # for
the Tridon flasher is EL12-C. I picked one up at Pep-Boys for around $8
and some change.

7To install a Tridon
flasher unit: Take off the seat and look on the rear right corner of the
under seat area. This is where you will find the flasher attached to the
undertray via a rubber mount. It will have a 2 wire connector running to
it. Disconnect it and remove the flasher unit. For my install I chose not
to cut any wires , but instead to make a new jumper set. This requires
two small sections of wire and four spade connectors, 2 male and 2 female.
The female connectors can be attached as they are, but the male ends may
need to be trimmed to fit in the stock plug. I just took mine to the bench
grinder and made them fit. Next you attach the male connectors. Now you
can plug the jumper right into the stock plug and to the new flasher. The
wires don't seem to have to be plugged into the stock harness in any particular
way so its almost foolproof. Just attach the flasher back to the rubber
mount on the side with a zip tie and you're done.

8http://www.rmhid.com/Xenon lights for motorcycles.
Some Forum members have recommended against these. They are way
expensive and under some [many] conditions they would perform less well
than the standard units.

[And
after some digging and searching and a request to KJ - the original author
- here are the facts. All of them. - Mike]

9I have researched this
topic for a couple of years. I must say, ever since I saw and driven a
BMW 740iL with these High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps I wanted one.
Although they looked good from the outside, as a driver something was weird
about them. It took some getting used to to drive the car in the dark.
I have posted on this forum about this since it has been a subject of debate
not only here, but on many automobile forums as well. (Alvaro, feel free
to jump in since we know you work for Hella Spain).You may want to check
out these facts before forking out $1k for the kit:

Don't even get me started
on those blue filtered halogen lights (blue ion, etc. Do a search on "HID"
in this forum and see my posts on October 28 and 29, 1998). But, if we
are talking about true HID lamps, then here are some things you should
be aware of:

* ARE THESE CONVERSIONS
SAFE AND WELL THOUGHT OUT?

Trying to "convert"
halogen head-lamps to HID may be an unsafe thing to do. At this time, there
aren't legitimate HID retrofits for the head-lamps of any car or bike which
didn't have them as a factory option. HID head-lamps use an arc capsule
where an arc or Xenon plasma (most automobile units use Xenon) jumps between
two electrodes. Unlike a halogen bulb (which uses a glowing filament) HID's
use this arc as the source of the light. It takes thousands of volts to
produce this arc, and a conversion kit should have the necessary electronics
to provide this voltage supply. Like halogen bulbs, it is important to
have the light source at a precise spot (in millimeters) in the reflector
for the lamp to produce a proper beam. Also, the lateral, vertical, and
longitudinal orientation is of extreme significance to some lamp designs.
As we know, twin-beam head-lamps (high and low beams) must have a twin
filament bulb. Some designs also shield the low beam. The only way to assure
the correct placement of the source in the lamp is to use the correct bulb
type. Some of these HID conversions do not take these things into account.

Some of these conversions
have a standard bulb base drilled-out and in the filament's place an HID
arc capsule is glued. Other designs use an HID arc capsule attached to
an adaptor plate which fits in place of the stock bulb. I am not aware
of any HID arc capsules that have more than one arc or have a transverse
arc path. On the other hand, most sealed beams (and 9004) use transverse
filaments.

Some may argue that
as a result, if the stock unit has only a single filament, then single
arc conversions are just fine. That would be a mistake since the conversion
maybe unsafe. The "type" light produced by an HID arc is different from
that of the filament in a halogen bulb. The stock reflectors of a halogen
head-lamp are optimized for a halogen bulb. This is true even if the arc
is placed at precisely the same spot as the stock filament. There is no
guarantee that the beam pattern produced by such a conversion may not produce
excessive glare to oncoming drivers and back-dazzle to the driver in bad
weather. There are also no guarantees that the conversion will illuminate
properly the places in the driver's field of vision that really need to
be illuminated. There is more to headlight illumination than just brightness
and color of the bulb ...

In addition, what is
not commonly known is that in an accident, cars with OEM HID units have
mechanisms (tied to the SRS systems' sensors) that disconnect the power
into the HID voltage supply, thus protecting people from potential shock.
This is not true in conversion units. This is another reason why this conversion
maybe unsafe.

* DO HID's OFFER
BETTER VISIBILITY?

Believe it or not, there
are physiological disadvantages to HID head-lamps that do not exist with
halogen lamps. For example, an HID lamp's Color Rendering Index (CRI) is
in the 60 to 70 range. On the other hand, halogen head-lamps' CRI is MUCH
better (CRI in the high 90's). Higher CRI figures mean that the human eye
can perceive color much better in that illuminated environment. Advantage:
Halogen lamps!

Why then, do some OEM
manufacturers use this technology and boast that the HID lamps produce
light that resembles daylight? Although this is true in terms of color
temperature, it does not consider all the factors involved in the eye's
ability to see in the night. HID's produce light with a color temperature
in the range of 4300K as compared with standard halogen's 3200K or high-efficiency
halogen's 3800K (Sunlight is at 5250K). It has yet to be proven that light
sources with color temperatures resembling daylight do in fact improve
the driver's NIGHT vision. The reason being is that the eye behaves differently
at night than during the day (or more accurately, it behaves differently
when the WHOLE field of vision is equally flooded with a light source as
compared with just part of it). The research behind how HID head-lamps
impacts driver safety and vision is currently not well known. Interestingly,
it has been shown that (given a certain intensity) distance perception
can be improved in some cases with headlights producing light with LOWER
color temperature. It turns out that for driving in foggy, rainy, or snowy
conditions, any shift of the light spectrum towards the blue DECREASES
our ability to see well! This is the case with HID lamps. This is one reason
why France required the use of selective-yellow head-lamps for so many
decades. Research has shown that these lights improve (or at least not
reduce) vision performance at night. Mind you that one of the problems
with this color is the human's inability to distinguish yellow features
from white ones in an environment flooded with this color of light. However
a sodium lamp (a type of HID), is much worse than selective-yellow halogen
lamps even though their color temperatures are not too different. The reason
why is that sodium lamps have very low CRI's. If you have ever been in
an environment flooded with a sodium lamp, you may have noticed that you
almost see only in black and yellow! Imaging having to ride in that environment!
The eye uses color as an important source of information. There is a reason
why we have those color receptors (cone receptors) in our retina.

ARE THERE ANY
ADVANTAGES TO USING HID?

Yes, one is that they
last a VERY long time. Another is that they are more efficient than filament
lamps as a source of light. In Lumens/Watt, HID's rule! a typical 35 Watt
HID lamp can produce around 3200 Lm which is 3-5 times what a halogen bulb
of equal wattage can produce. That allows for smaller head-lamp designs
(for improved aerodynamics), or you can keep the lamp wattage the same,
and get "more" light. Of course, by now you know it is not that straightforward!
Increasing Lumens this way works for lights like flood-lights, since the
objective is to simply "flood" the area with a beam of light. A vehicle
head-lamp is MUCH more complex. The objectives behind good head-lamp design
is maximizing distance vision while minimizing glare to other drivers.
Moreover, it has to illuminate what is essential for safe driving, while
not illuminating areas that would reduce from the ability to visualize
these essential areas. The objective of maximizing distance vision while
reducing glare are contradictory goals in low-beam head-lamp design, and
precise tradeoffs are made here. The objective of illuminating what is
essential is VERY important. During the day, the field of vision is illuminated
fairly uniformly. This is true even during inclement weather, where the
differences would be the degree of illumination, not much the uniformity.
On the other hand, night vision consists of only what is illuminated in
the field of vision. Outside that illumination field, objects are dark
and cannot be seen. Here is the twist: This illumination field MOVES with
the car (unlike daylight illumination). Also, the boundary of the illumination
field and what is dark is in extreme contrast, which creates problems with
vision. Such contrasts also occur within the field of illumination, albeit
less severely. When the foreground of the field of vision is illuminated
very sharply, the eye's pupils constrict, which reduces distance vision.
On the other hand, if you have little foreground illumination, a dark zone
is created in front of the vehicle, causing difficulty to see what is directly
ahead of vehicle. This is what the US has regulated for so long in US spec.
vehicles and why increasing light here may give some improvement in night
vision.

With HID's producing
MUCH more light per Watt, where would this "extra" light be utilized? Perhaps
some of it can be put into the high-intensity zone of the beam for distance
vision improvement. The problem is that it may increase glare to other
drivers and exceed regulations. Another option would be to distribute some
of that extra light in the rest of the beam. However, intensity regulations
outside the high-intensity zone are very tight since increasing intensity
in these areas creates back-dazzle and veiling glare, especially in inclement
weather. The only place to utilize the extra light would be in the foreground.
This may be useful for US spec headlights as was explained earlier. But
HID's have so much more intensity that over a certain level, distance vision
is compromised, glare on wet roads is increased, etc.

That still fails to
explain why HID's are popular OEM fitments in many luxury cars. Here is
one explanation: Somehow driver performance is improved if they can see
every detail of the moving road in front of them. This performance enhancement
is psychological in nature. The performance enhancement is due possibly
to sufficient foreground illumination where peripheral vision would be
better trusted to handle the foreground, while the eye is focused in the
distance where the driver should be looking. Note that foreground illumination
is just one of the many performance objectives of a vehicle's head-lamp.
It is sometimes falsely assumed that increased foreground illumination
means better performance. Again, this sense of security caused by HID lamps
intensely illuminating the foreground is generally false.

I've made this post
long enough, but you catch the drift. IMHO, HID conversions are not worth
the money. Unless HID technology improves and costs plummet to the ground,
when my bulbs burn out in my R1, I will opt for the new high efficiency
halogen bulbs that use high-pressure Xenon gas as the inert "blanket" (rather
than low pressure Bromine) which offer increased intensity without CRI
compromises. These lamps offer up to 20% improvement in thermal efficiency
which means that more of the electrical energy goes into producing light
rather than heat.

In order to measure
and cut the plastic I used a set of calipers and a hole saw. I first covered
the area with masking tape (to keep the plastic from splintering and also
to mark the spot to cut) then took the calipers and marked the distance
between the fairing bolt and the engine mount bolt (center to center).
On your fairing, draw a half circle using a pen and the calipers. Next
I took a measurement from one of the lower fairing 1/4 turn holes to the
engine mount bolt and made the same half circle mark on the fairing. The
two lines should intersect at a point, and that will be the center hole
for your hole saw drill bit. I also took another measurement from another
lower fairing 1/4 turn hole and made another mark on the fairing just to
make sure. All 3 lines should intersect at one point. You can't go wrong.
Make sure you go slow with the hole saw and have someone else hold the
fairing while you cut it.

2I like his way of finding
the center of the hole but I was nervous about cutting such a large hole
in one shot.

What I did was make
a round template from plexiglass (could be any other material) and drilled
a hole in the center to fit the Intuitive slider mounting bolt and another
very small hole at the radius of the slider. I then drilled a small hole
in the fairing and installed the bolt with the template into the engine
mount. By placing the small drill (radius of slider) into the template
I scratched a circle onto the irregular surface of the fairing. You have
to move the drill up and down as you rotate the template. I made the scribed
hole slightly smaller than the slider and sanded the hole to size using
a Dremel tool with a sanding drum. It took time but the result was perfect.

3Catch tanks. Tuned
engines often have higher internal gas pressures than standard engines.
This is especially true for big-bored or very high compression engines,
which are likely to have a larger blow-by past the piston rings than a
stock motor.

The increased pressure
may lead to an oil overflow - and without a catch-tank, the oil would end
up in the air filter or on the bike.

The catch-tank takes
care of surplus oil and usually has a return hose back to the engine.

4The best way to find
an exact center is to loosen the stock engine bolt (where the slider is
going to be mounted) so that it rests against the inside of the fairing.
Once you know it's touching the fairing, apply some paint to the bolt and
install your fairing. Give it some time to dry, pull the fairing off, and
now use that mark to drill a pilot hole...it should be dead center.

1Marine Tex. At any
marine supply store. 2 part epoxy that adhears well to most plastics. You
can reinforce with fiberglass cloth or mat if needed.

2To fix small cracks
in plastic (compared to fibreglass): Try Araldite (two part epoxy resin)
sticks to damn near anything - use on the inside of the plastic to hold
the crack together, let a little seep into the crack, wipe the suplus off
the outside with a wet finger. Some people have had sucess with a soldering
iron carefully used to melt the plastic - great care would be required
on the R1 as its so thin.

3Do not put wax on the
fresh paint for at least 30 days! Give the paint and clear time to harden
properly, wax will seal the paint in and possibly make it bubble.

Polishing1Polish your gas cap
(and other small stuff): Home Depot and buy 3 of the 7" or 8" cotton spiral
sewn wheels for your bench grinder along with brown, white and jewelers
rouge grades of polishing compound (Sears sells wheels and compound too...4
grades in a blister pack). Start with the brown and work down to the rouge.
Follow up with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish (much better than Simichrome)and
Mothers Liquid Pure Carnuba Wax (not cleaner-wax) both available from Pep
Boys. Try it on bolts, nuts, clutch and brake levers, brackets, etc. If
the surface is rough to start with, you might have to sand a little.

5Japanese language book
on the development of the R1: It's 177pages and 1,800yen($15 approximately).
ISBN4-87366-545-0

6How to take good videos
from the bike: I bought a camcorder mount from Grandpa's Tools. I don't
have a digital camera, so no pics. The rear end of the unit mounts onto
the gas tank filler hole bolts (you remove several of the bolts, and use
longer ones). It has a hole cut into it, so you can open-up the tank lid
to gas-up. The front of the mount extends to within a few inches of the
front of the tank. On that end of the unit there is an adjustable height
mechanism that lets you apply pressure from the mount on the tank, to minimize
the camcorder from vibrating at the front (lens) end.

Comes with a mounting
screw that screws into the bottom of the camcorder, where a tripod would
normally screw into. Holds it rock steady. Of course, image stabilization
and the camcorder's "wind" feature are turned on.....

4There is a place out
here in San Jose called "PK Selective Plating" that specializes in top
notch cosmetic anodizing. They know the chemical process well, and their
color anodizing is first rate. If you want to have your upper fork tubes
done in a cosmetic color I would recommend them. However, if you are looking
for hard clear anodizing that has dielectric, and wear properties, then
there are only a few places that I know that can really do it right, and
PK is not one of them.

Have a nice day,JAFO

5I installed a BC800
that is sensed from the rear wheel and the indicated R1 speedO is always
faster than what's indicated on the computer. Best way to measure the diameter
is to place the bike on a stand and wrap a string around the OD of the
tire at the center. Remove the string and measure it with a tape measure.
Use the instruction manual to convert the number for the BC800.

4Motul in our race bike.
We use a mixture of 1 liter 300V and 2 liters of 3100 15-50 (then topped
off with additional 3100). This was recommended to us by the Motul rep.
We have been doing this for 6 years and we have never had a motor failure
in any of our race bikes since we started using this recipe.

5According to Mobil,
you need the 15W50 WITHOUT the "energy saving" symbol on it for motorcycles.

6Fram oil filter for
R1 part number: PH6017a

7New car specific Mobil
One 10W-30 and 10W-40 oils in SJ classification DO CONTAIN FRICTION MODIFYERS.
The car specific 15W-50 in SH/SG DOES NOT contain friction modifyers. Therefore,
avoid car Mobil One in 10W-30 and 10W-40 with the SJ classifications.The 15W-50 oil in SH/SG
is just fine for motorcycle use.Note: This is generally
correct, but auto Mobil's compounding is slowly changing due to EPA rules
and auto company demands. Check with Mobil before you buy : 800-ASKMOBIL

8Mobil 1: Use the 10W-40
motorcycle specific - it's steep, at $8/qt - Autozone is one of the distributors
- if you don't have one nearby, call 800-ASK-MOBIL1 (yeah, I know, there
are too many digits, but it works).

9Despite what it says
in the Service Manual, don't torque the oil pan drain bolt tighter than
25 foot pounds. Use a new crush washer every time.

105GH-13440-00-00 Part
number for the new Yamaha R1 filter

11

Viscosity degradation occurs
at an amazing rate in a MC engine from the shearing action of the gears;
if I find it I'll post it, but I saw a graph of vis vs. hours in a MC engine
(Honda study, I think) and the drop was something like 30-40% in 2,000
miles:

Coking/varnishing of the
oil from heat both during operation and soak back on shutdown further degrade
the oil, contaminate passages, etc.

= you can't change oil
too often from a technical stand point...environmentally, well...change
your oil now, while you still can...I see a day when you won't be able
to purchase oil/do it yourself.

AZ R ONE

[Agreed
- some folks like to use top shelf oil at $50 / oilchange, and then change
it only as often as the insructions on the oil bottle suggest. I'd advise
to buy the best oil your pocket can easily afford, and change it every
4,000km / 2,500 miles. Medium price oil @ 2,500 miles is a lot better than
expensive oil @ 10,000 miles.]

12In several tests we
made two years ago using a good synthetic oil in a CBR 600, after 1.000
miles it was almost new, keeping more than 95% of its performance (i.e.
the viscosity index remained constant as well as many other features),
so I think that changing it at that time would be a waste of money.

When we talk about a
mineral oil, it's very different because it does not keep its performance
so long, that's one of the reasons why you need to change it more often.Alvaro

13The colour of the oil
does not show the loss of its performance.Alvaro[I
learned a trick while driving cabs. They check oil levels twice a day,
and the boss used to wipe some onto his finger, touch his thumb to it and
then very slowly move his thumb and finger apart. As the oil degrades,
its ability to stretch between two surfaces diminishes. New oil will stretch
something like 5 or 6 mm, but old oil will stretch less than 3. We didn't
measure it or anything, it's just something he did quickly on each of 30
cabs or so at the driver changeover, but with experience you can tell very
quickly from the colour, the feel, the smell and how well the oil stretches.
The colour alone doesn't tell you much. Most LPG motors, for example, leave
their oil clear and golden coloured even when the oil is as thin as water,
but it does smell different, it doesn't stretch, and it doesn't feel as
slippery as new oil.]

4I have the speedbleeders
and they work great! Sure makes bleeding a lot easier. With new lines,
you will have to use a MightyVac to get things started.

5I just swapped over
to stainless lines last week! I ended up unbolting the front lines from
the master cylinder, carefully pulling them down through the brake line
guide and plastic air shield; I then unbolted them from the brake calipers.
The brake fluid leakage was minimal. Installed the new Goodrich lines,
hooked up the Mighty Vac to the Speedbleeders, had the Motul 600 Racing
fluid ready, and had the new lines completely bled within 15 minutes! Sure
beats snapping the front brake lever for hours on end, especially when
the end result is brick-wall brakes. I didn't think much of the Mighty-Vac
in the past, but now have a change of heart. FWIW, I used the provided
non-bleeder dual banjo bolt at the master cylinder.Jeff

6>Did you drain the
mc b4 you removed the OEM lines?

Nope. Even with the
lines removed, the stock fluid will more or less remain up in the master
cylinder, unless either the reservoir cap is removed, or the lever is squeezed.
It *will* drain down out of the lines when you removed them from the calipers,
though, so as a precaution, I would highly recommend that you have a large
supply of fresh water standing by, because brake fluid will eat paint (I
had a garden hose). It also goes without saying to take great pains to
keep the stuff off your brake discs & pads. Unless you're going to
change them as well, once the pads are contaminated with brake fluid, no
degree of sanding will get that crap out. In the near future when I swap
out the pads, I also plan to scrub the sides of the pistons with an old
toothbrush and some hot soapy water.Jeff

7

Bearings1Needle bearing for
the rear wheel on the sprocket side: Manufacturer is Koyo, the part number
is BKM354220-1UU

2Another option for
this bearing: German made and is supposedly a higher quality than the KOYO.
The part # is: INA# HK35202RS.

Diagnostics, Troubleshooting1The tach jumping to
8k then dying means there is a problem with the fuel light (fuel low indicator)
connector. Lift the tank and check the green connector to make sure it
is plugged in. Yamaha rep told me that the R1 has a self-diagnostic tach.
6k is exup problems 7k is ignition problems and 8k is with the fuel system.

2

Tachometer trouble shooting:

1-tach jump to 3000rpm:

faulty circuit:tps (throttle position sensor)

2-tach jump to 7000rpm:

faulty circuit: exup valve

3-tach jump to 8000rpm:

faulty circuit: fuel level indicator

If some trouble should
occur in any of these circuits, the tach will repeatedly display as follows:0 rpm for 3 seconds->specified
problem (rpm) for 2.5 seconds->current engine rpm for 3 seconds->repeat.

3Persistent oil lights:
Yamaha UK believes it is the oil level sensor relay that is causing these
problems.

EXUP Troubleshooting,
Exhaust Leaks1The (EXUP) cable routing
on my bike was very restrictive. There is a tie wrap holding the cables
to the swing arm. Replace it with a longer one and your EXUP will work
much smoother.

2Tach will read 7000
if there is a problem with the EXUP servo valve not cycling properly. check
to ensure that the servo motors wiring plug did not come loose. Check to
make sure that the EXUP valve cables that run from the valve to the servo
are not binding (some people have reported this as happening, as they are
tie wrapped to the frame). If the valve itself is stuck, remove the lower
fairing, and you will be able to get at the valve itself. There are a few
small bolts holding the valve in place. Take them off, and carefully pull
out the valve. Take a piece of fine emery paper, and clean off any deposits
on the shaft. Put everything back in, and you should be in good shape.
Oh yeah, check your fuses first! It may be as simple as a blown fuse.

3Try YAMABOND 6S exhaust
sealer to stop air leaks in your exhaust system from "popping" off throttle.
Don't forget that some popping is often unavoidable on full exhaust systems
when off throttle. You'll have to be very diligent to stop it all.[Agreed
- you can minimise unnecessary crackle by reducing exhaust leaks and stuff,
but don't compromise jetting that works well to fix it. Some degree of
exhaust crackle is just a feature of a highly tuned engine with a short
exhaust and few baffles. In the days before they were fuel injected, formula
1 cars used to do it all the time. I've heard a lot of race bikes doing
it. If the level or amount of crackle starts to increase, then look for
air-leaks. ]

4If you are getting
mild exhaust popping, get some high temp silicon and seal where the headers
seat onto the aluminum mounts. Also seal where the can attaches to the
short pipe, and where the short pipe attaches to the mid pipe. You can
check for leaks easily by taking a strip of paper and holding near the
pipe joints. Sealing the exhaust system leaks should reducethe popping
significantly. I would check this before screwing with the jetting/mixture
screws.

5If your R1 seems to
lack power, check the EXUP valve adjustment. someone actually received
an R1 that had the EXUP cables reversed right from the factory! This means
the EXUP valve closes when you open the throttle; this will have a serious
adverse effect on power output.

6I adjusted the exup
cable slack to a little looser than factory recommendations. Too tight,
and you lose midrange, too loose and you lose top end.

7R1 exhayst gas temperatures:Temp outside was about
40 degrees F. I took temps at a couple of different places, and throttle
positions. Up by the head: Idle-about 400 deg F., 3k RPM-about650+. Down
as it bends behind the front wheel to go under the motor: Idle-about 300
deg. F, 3k RPM-about 400 deg. F. Kind of weird when I started checking
temps all over, the top of the pipe was a lot hotter than the bottom. Like
about 20-50 degrees. My carbon fiber oval Micron never got above like 140
degrees F. But on the inside it ran at about 350 deg. F.

Chain Maintenance1The procedure that
I use is different than what I have described above, and is, I feel, a
compromise between thoroughness of cleaning, mess potential (both floor
& R1), and time consumption. In addition, I have found that my chain
stays cleaner between cleanings using these products (I believe the wax
lubricant is less apt to attract contaminants than some of the other lubricants
I have used in the past).

I use:

Z-Chain Oiler

WD-40 aerosol

brake cleaner aerosol

Finish Line Krytech Chain
Wax Lubricant

Reinforced paper shop towels

Latex gloves

Procedure:

Lift rear tire and place
drip pan under chain and place two folded paper shop towels directly under
rear sprocket.

Wrap paper shop towel loosely
around chain and hold while rotating back tire BY HAND, using the shop
towel to clean off the chain. Continue wiping and refolding the shop towel
until the chain appears "dry".

Inspect shop towel, if
extremely dirty, repeat steps 3,4,6,&7.

Using latex gloves to hold
the Z-chain oiler over the drip pan, clean inside of Z-chain oiler using
aerosol brake cleaner in a well ventilated area. Once clean, shake off
and allow to dry (two minutes max.)

Allow to sit overnight
(or sufficient time for the wax lubricant carrier to evaporate).

Don't forget to adjust
the tension.

If you follow this procedure
you will end up with a chain that will look VERY similar to how your chain
looked when your bike was delivered to you when it was new.

I clean, lube, and adjust
my chain every 500 to 600 miles.

Please do not take offense
at the thoroughness of my posting. One of the many tasks I perform in my
job is writing procedures. Since this is a Forum, I am not only responding
to you but feel obligated to share what I have found with others on this
forum. I hope this helps, if not in it's entirety, then at least in part.SamR1[Hey,
what is this? You're apologizing for doing something well? Can you see
a plumber apologizing to his brother-in-law for fixing his leaking tap
properly and explaining that it's his job? For my part, I'm happy to get
and read and follow instruction of any standard as long as they're right
- but if they're written to a professional standard of technical documentation
- that's a bonus. There's nothing more frustrating than instructions that
are ambiguous, incomplete, syntactically mangled, inappropriate - we don't
have anyone from Microsoft here do we?]

2I'm not sure if the
Z-chain oiler is made by Finish Line (anyone know?), but I do know that
it is included in Finish Line's "Motorcycle Chain Care Kit". That's how
I got mine. In response to the post by FearblueR1, both the Z-chain oiler
and the chain wax are available from Dennis Kirk at:http://www.denniskirkinc.com/asp/wholesale.aspP/N# 303215 Finish
Line Krytech Chain Wax Lubricant 11 0z. $8.99P/N# 31351 Motorcycle
Chain Care Kit 8 oz. $18.99 or: http://www.1-planet.com/1p-fanaf.htm

3I'm a believer in chain
lube, the only brand I sell/use is PJ1 blue label, it will definitely make
your chain last longer, how much longer depends how you ride/tension it.
I always put it on at least 1 hour before I go riding or when I'm done
riding it stays on at least 300 miles under most conditions, maybe 100
miles under very high speed conditions (120+). Once it becomes "tacky"
fling-off is VERY minimal. I would never run any of my bikes without it.
I use brake cleaner on a rag/paper towel to clean it from metal parts and
ProHonda Cleaner for everything else. Ivan[Agreed
- PJ1 blue is great stuff.]

4I only use PJ1 Blue
Label also. It's excellent with next to no fling off. Have been using it
for 15 years approx and will use nothing else. WD40 does not have the pressure
qualities or properties to handle the job as chain lube.

5The major tip in chain
maintenance is: Use little, but often. So don't spray the whole chain,
but just the visible part, it will spread.

6Here's another vote
for WD-40. I've been using nothing but WD-40 on SEALED 0-RING CHAINS for
the past 5 years and have never come even remotely close to wearing out
a chain or sprocket.

Forum Member Maintenance
Comments/Tips/etc.1Loose bolts and such
found by S. Jannoti during his winter teardown:

Steering stem top nut,

all three engine mount
bolts that go into the head,

one of the rear engine
mount bolts,

many of the bodywork bolts,

the carb boots,

some of the hose clamps,

a couple of the rear sprocket
bolts,

several of the side cover
bolts,

on both the clutch cover
and the generator cover,

and all three bolts that
hold on the swingarm fender.

2When you remove your
fairings, take time to check the inside of the lowers - you may well find
that the clutch cable rubs on the right lower, coolant pipe and overflow
hoses on the left. I stuck gaffer tape on the fairing inner to hopefully
reduce the wear. A cable tie holding the clutch cable to the radiator hose
helps as well.

3If you sometimes hear
clunking sounds while accelerating from a stop (almost like a gear is jumping)
you need to adjust your EXUP cable tension. The adjusters are by the servo-motor
under the tank, but you need to remove the little shiny cover on the left
hand side of the exup valve to see where the cables attach. Check you service
manual for all the fun details.

4Some people have reported
that their fan blades are rubbing against a wire harness. Fan comes on
at 225 degrees.

5Backfiring problem
comments:

Backfire/popping on deceleration
is a known marker for a lean condition, either caused by air leaks somewhere
in the intake tract, or from incorrect jetting.

Shim needles about .020,
and make sure that the intake boots are clamped tight to the head.

Adjust your mixture screws
4 - 4.5 turns out. Ivan.<?LI>

Crackle on over-run also
indicates an airleak on the exhaust side. Check the head | header gaskets,
the header | collector box, and so on.

6It is important to
check your sidestand and sensor bolt torque at short, regular intervals
(It is apparently commonplace for these bolts to loosen and fall out).
I do it when I change oil, each 2000 miles. I've also found loose engine
mounting bolts, loose exhaust bolts etc. After making the habit of checking
bolt torque regularly, I've never had any problems/near accidents.

7I regularly check the
engine mounting bolts, bolts for brakes and exhaust, sidestand, fork/svingarm
and wheels (every oil change is a good idea). Ask yourself: Would it be
critical if this item fall off? If yes, check it often.

10My exhaust springs
resonated @ 4,800rpm even after a full week of riding to work everyday.
I tried bending the springs and clamps a little bit but with no prevail
to the buzz. Take some stainless steel safety wire and tie the two springs
together (in the middle)

11Oil leak: Dealer said
that the generator cover had a large amount of the black powdercoat on
the sealing flange of the cover. He cleaned this up and resealed the cover.
So far it it is dry.

12One tooth off the rear
sprocket will help with the speedometer error.

13I use the NGK CR9E-VX.
They cost a little more than stock CR9E sparkplugs, but they seem to perform
better and for a longer period of time.

14Remove the front wheel
to adjust your valves. There is plenty of room then.

R1 Weight1I have made quite a
few mods to my R1 over the last year or so and wanted to get an idea of
what the dry weight was. I weighed my bike, fully serviced with fuel and
oil. I used a digital bathroom scale and with the assistance of my Pit
Bull stands, I weighed first the front and then the rear.

The front weighed 211
lbs., the rear 212 lbs. For a total of 423 lbs.

realize that the
factory weighs without ANY fluids, but I wanted a general idea of what
the bike weighs.

Although some of the
mods increased the weight of the bike, most had some weight decrease.

2That's why I said to
go for the c/f tank in the first place (as the best money spent to take
weight off). If you already have done the pipe, nothing else will save
as much weight for the money, as changing the tank will. I have not yet
found aluminum replacement wheels that are lighter than the stock ones,
magnesium ones are slightly lighter, and will run you at least $1700.00,
plus the sprocket, C/F ones will save close to 10 lbs, but the retail for
$4,500. The original question was what will give the most weight saving
for the money after a full system, and in my book, a carbon fiber gas tank
is the only item that will.SantoJ

RidingRoutes1Classic loop in the
North Georgia Mountains: first take Ga 400 to the end near Dahlonega. Then
take left at the traffic lights toward Dahlonega; go right on 19/60 to
the "rockpile" go right at the rockpile, stay on 19 , which runs into 129;
go left on 129 to hwy 180; left to hwy 60; left go back to the rockpile;
make a left and do it all over again. one of the best rides you'll will
find

5California: Hwy 130
to Mount Hamilton, that's it baby! Heaven on earth! Don't stop at the observatory,
keep going all the way to Livermore, then get on hwy 84 to 680, and back
to San Jose. 100 mile loop.

6If anyone ever comes
to Germany Look for a Place called JohanusKreuz. It's the Bomb and the
only time you see the Police around is at the Rest Stop or down the road
by an accident.

Racing, Drag Racing,
Launching Tips/Speed Techniques1For R1 drag racers:
New tie-down strap for the front end. Made by Cycle Shop and can be purchased
through Schnitz Racing (800-837-9730) for $22.95 + tax & shipping.
Cheap investment for the added safety. Several racers are using them this
year in Prostar.

2Two things will get
you into the 10's: adjustable linkage for the rear suspension and the new
front end tie-down strap. Adjustable link by Adjustment Tech in canada.
Tie-down strap for the front end is made by the Cycle Shop; can be purchased
through Schnitz Racing (800-837-9730) for $22.95 + tax & shipping.

5As far as my setup
for getting in the 10.0's, I run the Adjustment Tech ride height adjuster
at the rear. This piece is basically just a thick threaded rod with a 15/16"
nut on the end that you turn to lower and raise the bike. It really is
the best setup because you don't have to lift and support the rear of the
bike, just crank the nut and you're 3-4" up or down in 1 minute. You can
ride to the track at stock ride height, lower it, and then raise it back
up to go home with nothing more than a 15/16" wrench. To use any of these
other links, you have to lift the rear of the bike and support it.

As for the front, the
R1 fork tubes will only drop about 1 1/2" through the triple clamps. If
you take a look at them, you will see that their diameter increases at
that 1 1/2" point preventing them from dropping further through the triple
clamps. I drop the fork tubes and use the tie-down strap technique.

7Drag racing tips: When
you're ready to go a little faster, try this; install a 1 tooth smaller
front sprocket, along with a 2 tooth larger rear sprocket, and leave in
2nd gear. With a little practice, you will be able to leave the line as
hard as you wished you could have before making the change.Santo Jannotti

8At high speeds: Keep
forward against the tank, helmet almost hitting the windshield; not the
natural top speed run position but aerodynamics aren't the R1's strong
point anyway.

5Vanson Leathers - Stoughton,
MA (No#)[If
anybody has a number or url or other contact info for these guys I'd love
to have it. They got a very good rap from racers and would-be racers in
the 'states as being medium price but very heavy-duty and high quality.]

9http://www.newenough.comAn authorized Fieldsheer
dealer but also has a good selection and description of used leathers on
hand.10TWS-USA @ 909-608-0082P.O. Box: 8468Upland, CA 91786Fax: 909 982-6310TWS carries Spyke Leathers;
so does Ferraci

13Barnacles Bill's in
KY his ph# is 606-336-7375. Source for leather repairs, custom, and second
hand leathers.

14The First Gear S-pilot
jacket and pants offer some hard to beat features. Hard armor, enough zippered
venting to make Fankenstein blush, and genuine 10 year durability. A year
round suit and the only one you'll need. Another nice item is the Chase
Harper "Breeze Buster". A polar fleece backed windproof nylon neck and
chest bib. I wore it under my leather jacket with just a t-shirt going
over Mt. Laguna a couple weeks ago and was warm as toast while I dodged
the ice patches on the road.

2E-mail fabba-dabba
for the phone number of the dealer in his area that sells Arai's for the
lowest price around.

3Suomy R1 logo helmets
available in the US in May '99. Snell and DOT certified 2.8 lbs $364 US
+ shipping, Modern World in Alameda, CaliforniaModern World Ventures2236
Mariner Square Dr. #200Alameda, CA 945011 800 436-4248Rick is the helmet
guy. rick@modernworld.com

5Quantum/e Edwards 3
(Blue) from House of Motorcycles for $360. My contact was Jennifer at 800
286-5871. You might check the Raptor, or you might look at the Edwards
3/Blue on the Arai website. The color scheme contains a significant amount
of blue which is an exact match for the yamaha/R1 blue.

Gloves1Best gloves I ever
had are my current ones - made by a company called "Just Bikers" in the
UK they cost £35

2Helimot European Accessories
for Held gloves, can be reached at: (408)-298-9608. San Jose, CA, they
can ship.

5I've had great experience
with Banzai Parts (1-800-405-SAVE). They seem to have the best prices of
all these mailorder outfits and have pretty decent customer service. They
get their parts from the exact same Yamaha warehouses that your local dealer
uses so no need to worry about quality.

Lights, bulbs1The Kinetic Playground
at 918-743-6552 for halogen blue head light bulbs. They are "Eagle Eye"
brand. This shop has sold bunches of these things and has not seen any
problems with them.$17.50 each.

Batteries1Bolder Technologies;
new technology battery. (303) 215-2500(Note: This technology has not yet
proven out for the R1, although it has considerable potential/lightweight,
high power)

Heated Grips1Heated Grips, well
they take about 15 minutes to fit, and unless you look very closely you
cannot tell. They replace the standard grips (just cut those off, and slide
the new grips in place), but they have a wire moulded into one end of the
grip (the end I route this wire under the bars, and under the front yoke.
There is a small switch which is easily mounted in the cockpit - I mounted
mine on the same bolt that holds the brake master cylinder on. One wire
is then routed under the tank, where you connect to live & earth. I
used the live side of the rear brake light switch (to ensure that you cannot
switch the grips on when ignition is off - that would surely drain the
battery!), and I attached the earth lead to the frame with the screw that
also holds on a small black (well, black on a blue R1) cover on, which
is underneath the black side panels (which are held on with velcro and
an allen bolt). The only noticible difference with the grips, is that they
have a slightly larger diameter than the standard grips (only by a couple
of mm) - but I find this more comfortable. They take around 2 mins to warm
up, and keep your hands very toasty warm! I wear summer gloves throughout
the year, and my hands are plenty warm enough - even in sub-zero conditions
(well, not as cold as it can get over there, but around -3C). I have even
seen my hands steam when riding in the rain!They cost £38
(English pounds).

Hoses/Clamps1Samco hoses are racing
applications. Made of high purity silicone. If cost is no object...then
they're for you...